Help - cucumber plant only has female flowers

[Alyson]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice and help. I am new to gardening and planted my first cucumber plants (f1 picolini). They are still inside due to the awful May weather (live in Belgium). But all 3 of the plants only have female flowers, about 20 of them with many more growing, but no male at all. I thought it was a hybrid, however the ones at the bottom that flowered first are now dying, which makes me think they do need the male flower. Not sure what I should do now. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice and help. I am new to gardening and planted my first cucumber plants (f1 picolini). They are still inside due to the awful May weather (live in Belgium). But all 3 of the plants only have female flowers, about 20 of them with many more growing, but no male at all. I thought it was a hybrid, however the ones at the bottom that flowered first are now dying, which makes me think they do need the male flower. Not sure what I should do now. Any advice appreciated.

Nothing unusual about this. You have a Gynoecious type of cucumber which has only female flowers. But, you must have another plant, one which has male flowers, planted close by. The following link should be of great interest.

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www.seminis-us.com

 

[headfullofbees]

I grow all-female varieties which need no male flowers, in fact, if my plants produce them, it is because they are badly stressed, & if they are not removed make my cucumbers bitter.
Check if your variety is "Parthenocarpic".
From your pictures, having more than one cucumber per node suggests to me small, parthenocarpic cucumber varieties like "Nimrod" (sometimes called "Mini-munch"), "Socrates", "Diva", etc.
There are three ways cucumbers are grown:
Outside ridge varieties, which I believe are the type Chuck grows, which DO need male pollination.
Greenhouse varieties, which can also sometimes handle growing outdoors, which normally produce male flowers, which must be removed ASAP to prevent fruit bitterness, and parthenocarpic types, as above.
Parthenocarpic types do not want nor need pollinating; a male plant is the worst thing you could do for them.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Alyson]

Thank you both for your replies

I don't have any other plant, so no males to pollinate if that is what is needed. Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing on the packet to tell me what type this is, so I don't know if it is a Parthenocarpic type or not Just an F1 picolini).

The ones which were first flowering didn't get any bigger and are now dying. Is that normal? They are still inside (house), as I have no green house and only 13 degrees here, so can't put them outside. Not sure if I should just start again Thank-you again

 

[headfullofbees]

F1 Picolini? not F1 Picolino?

F1 Picolino is a parthenocarp, so if this is your cucumber, NO MALE PLANTS!!

Do not start again, your plants are basically terrific.
What is your feeding/watering regime?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you both for your replies

I don't have any other plant, so no males to pollinate if that is what is needed. Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing on the packet to tell me what type this is, so I don't know if it is a Parthenocarpic type or not Just an F1 picolini).

The ones which were first flowering didn't get any bigger and are now dying. Is that normal? They are still inside (house), as I have no green house and only 13 degrees here, so can't put them outside. Not sure if I should just start again Thank-you again

Normally in a packet of gynoecious cuc seeds they will provide a few male flowering seeds to plant alongside the female seeds. But as @headfullofbees has stated yours are a parthenocarpic type so no males are needed.

 

[Alyson]

Sorry, yes F1 picolino. Ah, well that's good. Just strange that nothing is growing into an actual cucumber. I water mainly on a morning, but it depends if the soil is still moist or not. I feed once a week.

 

[headfullofbees]

What are you feeding them?

Watering every morning is ok at that stage (300ml per plant), but since you are growing them in pots, you may be sluicing out the nutrients.
My suggestion would be to feed every other day with a weak seaweed/comfrey solution.

It is also likely that you will have to water at that rate twice a day if the weather improves.
It is a bit of a worry that you don't have a greenhouse, as these are nowhere near as robust as ridge types: have you a warm sheltered spot for them?

 

[Alyson]

OK, Thank-you so much. Will try this. Thank you for all your help

 

[headfullofbees]

Good luck!
By the way, they grow best at 15C