Whether you plan to grow pumpkins this fall to make pumpkin pie, jack-o'-lanterns or anything in between, it's important that you take good care of your pumpkin plants. Between spacing them out properly, making sure they get enough sunlight and keeping them safe from garden pests, there are so many things you need to do to keep this plant growing healthily.
That said, it's not uncommon for amateur pumpkin gardeners to face issues as fall approaches—and one common issue is the pumpkin plant growing flowers but not fruit. For anyone trying to grow a pumpkin, there's nothing more frustrating than the plant refusing to actually produce a pumpkin!
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But why do some pumpkin plants produce flowers but not fruit? To understand, Parade consulted with a bonafide pumpkin expert: Steve Jacobsen, farmer and owner of the Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch in Solvang, Calif, who shared six reasons why you might be experiencing this issue.
Curious to learn all six reasons as well as how to remedy them? Keep reading for Jacobsen's insights.
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Why Your Pumpkin Plant Has Flowers but No Pumpkins
1. Insufficient pollination
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"The primary reason a pumpkin plant would not have fruit is that the blooms were not pollinated," Jacobsen tells Parade.
Each pumpkin plant has both male and female flowers, he explains. Typically, male flowers bloom first, and female flowers bloom two weeks later (or even later, if weather is very hot), per Gardening Know How. If the female flowers on a pumpkin plant are not pollinated, then the plant will not grow any fruit.
In these cases, some gardeners recommend hand-pollinating the flowers. The blog A Modern Homestead recommends using a cotton swab to transfer some pollen from your plant's male flowers into the female blossom.
"Insects, primarily bees, are the mechanism for the flowers to be pollinated," adds Jacobsen. "That is why it is important to foster the local bee population."
"Soil condition is the most important aspect of planting pumpkins," explains Jacobsen.
In general, the soil's temperature should be at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, though some varieties of pumpkin require the soil to be at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Jacobsen.
Additionally, he says, "the soil must have nutrients for the pumpkin plant to thrive," it should be well-drained and it should be "moist enough that the soil may cling to a hand but not sopping wet."
Gardening Know How also notes that a surplus of nitrogen in the soil can cause a pumpkin plant to mostly grow male flowers, but not female flowers or pumpkins. And, as we know, a lack of female flowers on a pumpkin plant means no pumpkins. So, it's important to make sure your nitrogen levels aren't too high.
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3. Not enough sunlight or warm weather
"Pumpkins need heat to grow," explains Jacobsen. "Generally, plants will grow larger with temperatures above 80 degrees."
Furthermore, pumpkin plants need "a lot of sunshine," says Jacobsen, who recommends a minimum of eight hours of sunlight daily.
And per Gardening Know How, when temperatures fall below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, bees may stay out of shaded areas—so if your pumpkin plants are in the shade for too many hours each day, they may not get sufficiently pollinated, and may not produce fruit.
4. Low quality seeds
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"Seed quality is very important," advises Jacobsen, who believes the best possible seeds to use are the ones you used last season, as an "older seed may not germinate."
To keep your seed haul safe until next year, Thistle Downs Farm recommends rinsing and then drying out your seeds on paper towels for at least three weeks. Then, store them in a paper envelope "that prevents it from being exposed to light, heat and moisture," says Jacobsen.
There is a wide variety of garden pests with an appetite for pumpkins, their seeds and their roots. Animals with the potential to harm your pumpkin plant include gophers, moles, ground squirrels, crows, aphids and cucumber beetles.
If you are having trouble growing pumpkins and you notice any of these critters nearby, you may want to look into humane ways to keep these animals away from your garden.
6. Not enough space
"In addition to having good soil, enough water and sunlight, good seed stock and quality pest control, each pumpkin plant must have room to grow," says Jacobsen. He notes that the seed package you bought should state the ideal spacing between the pumpkin plants it will yield.
"Good pumpkin yield, particularly with pumpkins over 20 pounds, require several feet in between each plant," he says. "For very large pumpkins, the general rule is one fruit per plant. Too many fruits on one plant may reduce the size and quality of the pumpkins the plant produces."
Related: Fertilizing These 9 Plants in Summer Can Do More Harm Than Good—These 5 Still Need It
Bright yellow pumpkin flower blooming on the vine.Kriangkrai Thitimakorn / Getty Images
If you're worried your pumpkin plant is taking too long to grow, remember that some species naturally take longer than others—and these may need to be planted earlier in the year than you think.
"Some varieties will produce fruit in approximately 50 days," says Jacobsen. "Some other varieties, particularly the large ones, require over 120 days to produce the pumpkin desired." The seed package should state how many days you can expect your plant to take to reach maturation.
What Time Of Year Is Best to Plant Your Pumpkins?
It's vital to plant your pumpkins at the proper time of year. In most cases, your seed package should include guidance on when to plant.
However, if you want your pumpkins to be ready in time for Halloween, you should ideally plant them in late June; if you don't need them until Thanksgiving, you can plant them in mid-July, per A Modern Homestead. And if it's too hot outside then, you can start by planting your seeds inside, and then later transfer them to your pumpkin patch.
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Sources:
Steve Jacobsen, farmer and owner of the Solvang Farmer Pumpkin PatchPumpkin Plant Not Producing: Why A Pumpkin Plant Flowers But No Fruit. Gardening Know How.How to Save Pumpkin Seeds For Re-Planting Next Year. Thistle Downs Farm.Growing Pumpkins from Seed. A Modern Homestead.Hence then, the article about why your pumpkin plant has flowers but no pumpkins was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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