Birds, Bees, and Zucchini

Q: What is wrong with my zucchini plants? Every year I get many blooms, but the blooms fall off like they’ve been severed at the stem. I’m at a loss as to what’s going on. 

A: What is going on is that zucchini has male and female flowers on the same plant. Typically the male flowers appear about two weeks before the females appear.  

You need to be able to distinguish between the boys and the girls. They are easy to tell apart. The male blooms are connected to the main stem of the plant by a simple, short green stem. Female blooms will have a tiny squash connecting them to the main stem.  

The solution to your problem is easy: just wait a while. The female blooms will appear soon. If the fruit that follows is misshapen, you’re getting incomplete pollination. Bees must visit the male and female blooms six to eight times before full pollination occurs.  

If bees are scarce, hand pollination can be done by gently jiggling a cotton swab alternately in male and female flowers. Humming “I’m in the Mood for Love” or “Some Enchanted Evening” while you work is said to help as well.