Pumpkins are cultivars of winter squash. The fruits growing on the plant can be found in a round smooth shape that has ribbed skin on its outer layer. The colors can range from orange to yellow, but these mostly depend on the variety you decide to plant. The shell found on the plants usually contains its pulp and seeds. On top of being a delicious fruit that you can grow, another great thing about pumpkins is how healthy they are. The plant can also last you a long time if taken proper care of.
Though, there are also some questions that people ask regarding them. A common query that you might come across is “what is the difference between a female and male pumpkin flower?”. If you are wondering the same thing then going through this article should help you out. This is because we will be providing you with a comparison between both of these flowers so that it can be easier for you to understand how they are different.
Female Pumpkin Flower vs Male
Female Pumpkin Flower
The female pumpkin flowers are usually the ones where your fruit will grow. These can be easily identified as the fruit should start growing on the flowers as soon as the plant is in its season. The role of these flowers is to absorb the pollen around them, allowing them to reproduce. This helps in new flowers growing as well as allowing the plant to grow fruits on it. You should note that the female flowers also have small fruit hanging on them. This only starts growing once the flower has received its pollen. Although, the fruit will still be present on it, allowing people to distinguish them easily.
Another thing that should be noted is that female flowers are much more important. These determine the number of fruits that will be growing in your garden. Keeping this in mind, making sure that the female flowers keep on growing should help you in getting a much better harvest. People planting pumpkins on a wider scale usually start removing the male flowers. The main reason behind this is that the male versions are only required in a limited quantity.
This is why the best way to increase your harvest is by keeping as many female flowers as you can. Now that you understand this, another thing to note about the female flowers is that the stalks these flowers are growing on are usually shorter when compared to male plants. This height difference naturally allows the pollen to fall inside the female flowers during the pollen season. Keeping this in mind, the process usually happens on its own without requiring any effort from its owner.
Male Pumpkin Flower
The male pumpkin flowers are the ones that produce pollen inside them. This usually comes off with the wind and falls inside the female flowers. Aside from this, insects and birds can also carry the pollen as these sticks to them when they sit on the flower. After this, the animal or bug will fly around, causing the pollen to fall from their feet, inside the female flower. The process is quite natural but there are some additional things that you need to keep in mind.
Tons of farmers often start removing male flowers from their gardens. This is the best way to ensure that you get tons of pumpkins during the harvesting time. The pollen inside some of the male flowers is enough to keep all the female flowers pollinated. Additionally, you can even pour the pollen inside the female flowers manually. This is why people often decide to keep a few male flowers and then pollinate them manually.
The process is quite easy and the only thing you have to do is use a small cotton bud. This can allow the pollen to stick to it which can then be dropped inside the female flowers. Finally, one more thing to note is that both male and female flowers can grow on the same plant. While this is quite common, the fact might alarm some beginners. Going through the information provided above should help most users in distinguishing between the two flowers. If you are still having trouble then try observing a plant that has these flowers growing to help you out.