Wondering why my zucchini flowers are closed? Should they be open? I know some flowers close at night and open during the day, however my flowers seem to be closed all the time. 
asked Jun 3, 2014 at 18:35
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Edited to add: Ahhh! The pictures you added tell a lot. Your plants are further along than I assumed based on your original post. When the plants are as far along as yours are, flowers not opening can be a sign of stress. Sometimes it happens when you have a squash vine borer, but in your case, I think it is because the plants are much too close together. I plant my zucchini in raised beds, and each plant gets a 3' x 3' area to itself. They are huge plants and need space.
If they are closed still, they are not yet mature. They will open, and once they do you will notice them open during the day.
Your first flowers are likely to all be male flowers, so you will not get any fruit from them. After a flush of all male flowers, you'll start noticing a mix of male flowers and female flowers. The female flowers will have a small bulge in the stem at the base of the flower. This bulge will become the fruit once the flower is pollinated.
Good luck and enjoy the zucchini!
-
Thanks @michelle I am seeing the zucchinis fruit growing on them already. I'll add pics for you to see. Also please not the spacing issue that I am concerned about. The person I purchased the seeds from said I could do 3 plants in one pot 12" wide and 12" deep. Do you think it's too crowded though? Commented Jun 4, 2014 at 15:06
-
2@ChristinaRule - I'm gonna butt in on this one - yes, they are too close together, I'd only be putting one plant in a pot that size - by the end of a season, a single zucchini plant is huge, a good 3 feet across when in the ground.– BambooCommented Jun 4, 2014 at 15:12
-
Thanks @bamboo so what is the best way to go about separating them into different containers without killing them? Commented Jun 4, 2014 at 17:19
-
@michelle what do you suggest I do? Is there a good solution for transplanting at this stage? If I do transplant will keeping one plant in a pot this size be okay? thanks so much for all the help! Commented Jun 4, 2014 at 17:21
-
1@ChristinaRule - from the pics, looks like its doing fine, there's lots of new stuff at the base in the centre which looks like its gonna be flowers. I don't think you need do anything, the plant may sacrifice the remainder of the unopen flowers, so just clear any dead material from the compost when it falls and wait for the new ones to arrive.– BambooCommented Jun 19, 2014 at 14:26