How to pollinate zucchini plants

The only tricky aspect of growing zucchini can be ensuring plants are pollinated and produce fruit year round. These tips from Penny Woodward will help on how to pollinate zucchini.

Zucchinis produce male and female flowers, with the male flower on a long, slender stem, and the female flower occurring with the tiny developing fruit behind. If the female flower isn’t fertilized, the fruit collapses and falls off the plant. But if it is fertilized, the fruit begins to grow.

When the weather is very hot or wet, or no bees or other pollinators around, there might be no fruit. In very hot weather you may only get male flowers, so no zucchini will grow. So what do you need to do to pollinate your zucchini flowers? You can do the pollinating yourself.

How to pollinate zucchini flowers by hand

To begin, detach a male flower and carefully remove the petals, exposing the central stamens that are coated in pollen. Then, gently insert the stamens into the female flower, ensuring that the stamen makes contact with the central stigma to transfer the pollen. You can use a single male flower to pollinate multiple female flowers, ensuring successful fertilization across your garden. If you don’t want to break off a male flower, use a paintbrush to collect pollen from the stamens in the male flower. Transfer this pollen by touching the brush onto the stigma in the female flower. It’s best to pollinate in the morning, as the female flowers close up in the afternoon.

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