My Growing Squash Has Plenty of Flowers But No Fruit

Squash, from the cucurbits family of vegetables, are very popular garden vegetables, according to University of Illinois Extension. In spite of this popularity, however, they prove confusing to some gardeners who see an abundance of flowers on the vine that fail to produce fruit.

Normal Development

• Squash plants develop both male and female flowers on the same plant, requiring pollination for the female flowers to produce fruit. Male flowers develop before female flowers do, so squash plants with ample blooms but no fruit may simply be at the beginning of the process. As many as four male blossoms per day may open for as long as a week before the plant begins producing any female flowers.

Pollination

• Each squash plant flower lasts only one day once it has opened, before falling off the vine. This makes pollination pivotal to the development of squash. Insecticide applications kill insects, particularly bees that pollinate these flowers, preventing the fruit from setting and ripening.

Solution

• Apply insecticides if needed, but only in the late afternoon. Bees are more active in the morning hours and so less likely to be killed by afternoon insecticide treatments.