| I am growing pumpkins and after the flower blooms it falls off instead of growing a pumpkin. What is causing it to do this and can it be solved? |
| Your pumpkin vine will produce separate male and female blossoms. The male blossoms shrivel up and die, but the female blossoms should produce fruit - if they've been pollinated by insects. The male blossoms have a straight stem directly behind the petals, all the way to the vine. Female blossoms have a swelling on the stem behind the petals. If the flowers that wilt have a straight stem, they're the male flowers and nothing is lost. If they're female blossoms and they wilt and die, then they probably weren't pollinated. Lots of things can affect pollination -(no insect activity, or weather that's too hot or too cold are the most common reasons for poor pollination). Carefully inspect the blossoms of your plants. You may discover that the flowers that are wilting and drying up are the male blossoms. |
