Pumpkin Love

female bud

male bud

Did you know that there are male and female pumpkin flowers?

The male flowers are on long narrow stems that shoot up high and the female buds have little possible pumpkins right under the bud.





I've had flowers on my pumpkin vines for a while but no baby pumpkins. I decided to do a little research and found out there were two types of buds. Of course I ran right out to see if I had any female flowers since they are the ones that produce pumpkins if pollinated by a male flower. As luck would have it I had one female flower that was blooming. I guess they only bloom for one day. After reading a little more I decided to help my little female along and hand pollinated her. I hope this baby keeps growing.




I'm really excited about my pumpkins. Every time I go out I search for more females. I'm happy to report that I have found several more female buds! Now I'm waiting for them to mature and hopefully get pollinated. Cucumbers also have male and female flowers in case you were wondering.