The sight of a healthy zucchini plant covered in bright yellow flowers brings great joy. Soon you will harvest an endless supply of fresh fruit. But then suddenly most of the flowers on the plants fall off and you start to worry. You can find out why zucchini flowers fall off and how you can deal with them in this article.
Zucchini flowers fall off: what are the causes and what can you do?
Zucchini have large, yellow flowers that play an important role in the growth and development of the plant. However, sometimes they fall off before they can produce delicious zucchini and this can be frustrating for gardeners. However, this is not always a catastrophic problem and may even be a natural part of the plant's life cycle. Here are the main reasons why zucchini plants drop their flowers and the possible solutions for them.
They are the male flowers
Zucchini plants have both male and female flowers, but only the female flowers produce fruit. Often only male flowers initially form, which are narrower than the female ones and have no stigma in the middle. Once they release their pollen, they simply fall off the plant, making it appear as if it is losing all of its flowers. The female flowers will soon open and you will harvest delicious fruit.
Remember that these flowers are edible if you catch them before they fall off. And if you only eat the male flowers and of course leave a few for pollination, you shouldn't sacrifice any fruit.
Due to insufficient pollination
One of the most common causes of zucchini flowers falling off is lack of pollination. Zucchini plants need insects to carry pollen from male to female flowers. Poor pollination can be caused by a lack of pollinators such as bees or butterflies, high humidity that causes pollen to clump, rainy weather, or a lack of male flowers. And when the plant realizes that pollination of the flowers is not enough to produce ripe fruits, it drops them and blooms again.
To promote pollination, you should grow several plants in your garden that attract beneficial insects such as bees to increase their numbers. Or you can fertilize the zucchini flowers manually by transferring the pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers with a small brush, as it is heavy and sticky and cannot be transported by the wind.
The plant suffers from stress
Zucchini plants are very susceptible to stress and then produce more male than female flowers.
Most stressful situations that cause flowers to drop are lack of sunlight, inappropriate temperatures, improper watering, or root damage.
High temperatures can cause the zucchini flowers to fall off the plant. Be sure to water the plant regularly and cover it during the warmest part of the day. In this case, you may also notice symptoms such as wilting and yellowing of the plant.
Lack of nutrients can be the cause
Zucchini need healthy soil rich in nitrogen, phosphate and potassium to develop properly. However, if the soil is nutrient poor, the flowers cannot produce fruit and they eventually fall off.
Be sure to regularly feed your plants a balanced fertilizer and water them thoroughly once a week to avoid waste. Test the soil pH and try to keep it between 4.5 and 5.5 so that your plants can thrive in the best conditions.
Pests and diseases can cause the waste
Zucchini flowers can also fall off due to pest infestation.
To protect your plants, keep a neat, tidy garden and use natural control products.
There are many garden pests that like to feed on zucchini plants. Most sapsuckers weaken the plant, which can cause flowers to drop. For example, cutworms can completely separate the flower stalks, while thrips are particularly attracted to the flower buds.
OneInfection with powdery mildewcan also be the cause of zucchini flowers falling off, although this is rare.
Zucchini flowers fall off: Planted too close
If your plants are planted too densely, this can cause the zucchini flowers to drop. If the distance is less, the plants cannot grow properly and drop their flowers.
Planting your zucchini 60cm to 90cm apart will give them enough space to develop. Also try thatTreat zucchini with trellises, so that they are not crowded together.
