Help!! ...The flowers are dying!!

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IRIS Greenville, SC(Zone 7a) Jun 30, 2001

I have a gourd vine that is growing really great, The flowers on it are nice when they are opened, Only problem is, When the flowers are passed, They turn brown and fall off at the stem instead of starting a gourd, ( I know the flowers are suppose to fall off, But the problem is the whole stem falls of with it! )Would anyone have any idea what would be causing this and how I could fix it????? ...

Post #7480
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darius So.App.Mtns., United States(Zone 5b) Jun 30, 2001

squash borers

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marshseed Santa Barbara, CA Jun 30, 2001

One gourd plant? There are two kinds of flowers on gourd vines: male and female, the males opening first. Male flowers have no ovaries so don't make gourds, only supply pollen BUT the pollen is sticky and heavy and needs bees and other pollinators to move the pollen from the male flowers to the stigmas of the female flowers. PRESTO, baby gourds. Of course with just one plant, getting male flowers at the same time as female ones is less assured.

Sometimes, it the weather is too cold, too hot, too rainy, then pollination doesn't happen.

Post #88718
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IRIS Greenville, SC(Zone 7a) Jun 30, 2001

Marshseed, TY for the info, I have only 1 plant... How do you tell for sure which ones are females and which ones are males?

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Calalily Deep South Coastal, TX(Zone 10a) Jun 30, 2001

the female flowers have a little gourd behind them, even before they open. There will be only male flowers at first, give it some time.
Cala

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marshseed Santa Barbara, CA Jun 30, 2001

The males are big and beautiful, rising gracefully from the flower stem [LOL!]

The female flower is attached to a minature gourd (the Ovary) which in turn is attached to the flower stem.

If you have a pumpkin or zucchini plant, you can see the differences more clearly because the flowers are bigger.

With one plant, you might want to practice some hand pollinating. If the male flower is open (pollen is ripe), you can use that flower, stripped of the corolla (petals) to pollinate the female flower. Just rub the pollen-covered anther tube inside the female flower against to stigma at the bottom of the corolla. It is ok to force open a still closed female flower -- no ravaging in the plant world!

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