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flowers failing to open

hi my courgettes in the polytunnel have loads of flowers but the mail ones are dropping off and the female ones are not opening just rotting away any one kno whats wrong have been watering them

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • hi hollyhock usually my courgettes do very well have far to many but just this problem with flowers dot know what to do

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    Hi, Scent & all. If you can tell the difference between male & female flowers presumably you have little courgettes on the plant, behind the female flowers. If the courgette vegetable is growing don't worry about the flowers. Maybe they open in the morning and close before you see them again. If they get wet or sit on wet soil they will rot. Not a problem unless you want to fry them as they do in Greece.

    I usually find, as has happened this year the first couple of courgettes are small and insignificant, usually stunted at about the size of a woman's little finger. I take these off and new better sized ones follow. Once you have little courgettes on feed once a week with liquid tomato food. Water at the base of the plant, don't wet leaves, they don't like tap water on their leaves.

    Hope this helps.

  • XX Posts: 707

    Hi scent of flowers and hollyhock, courgette flowers only seem to last a day and then wilt and drop off, I tend to remove them when they've died as they tend to get soggy on the soil and start to rot.  

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
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  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    I'm with KEF on thisimage 

    You can also self pollinate courgette's to encourage the female flower to reproduce. I've been seeing if the bee's will do it this year but sometimes mother nature needs a helping hand. If you take a male flower and dip it into the female flower the pollen is transferred and once pollinated the female will then grow. The courgettes which start to go rotten on the end usually haven't been polinated. 

  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731

    scent of flowers, having them in a polytunel can make it difficult for insect life to get in and pollinate the female flowers. Try following Zoomer's advice and pollinate by hand. It's very easy. Just brush the male flower's stamen lightly across the female flower's stigma. Don't be too vigorous, you don't want to damage the stigma.

  • ninnin Posts: 216

    Hi Kef

    Thanks for the info you made me feel better; my courgettes have flowered and first few have been tiny stayed smaller than my little finger for well over a week possibly two weeks picked off today, feeling more positive now.

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    Cheers Nin, but also do as Zoomer & Italophile say if there's any doubt about pollination.

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