Many gardeners, especially beginners, are concerned with one question: is it possible and necessary to pick off barren flowers on zucchini?
What are barren flowers?
The word barren flowers is widely used, but its meaning is not quite appropriate for a flower without an ovary. This confuses inexperienced gardeners.
Many people think that this is an empty flower that is of no use because nothing will grow on it. But this is a misconception.
It would be more correct to say that this is a male flower. And if you remember the school biology program, then everything immediately becomes clear. Male flowers are designed to pollinate female flowers. Without pollination, the fruit will not grow.
Here we should touch upon another misconception. Beginners often think that if a small zucchini has formed on a zucchini bush, it will definitely grow.
But in reality, if pollination does not occur, it will not develop and will eventually fall off.
For pollination to occur, pollen from the male flower must reach the female flower. This happens with the help of insects, which carry pollen with their paws and bodies.
Note: You can pollinate zucchini by hand by picking a male flower and touching the stamen to the pistil of a female flower.
Should I pick off flowers without ovaries?
Male flowers (empty flowers) do not need to be picked off, as female flowers will not be pollinated. Therefore, the squash will not grow. The flowers of this plant bloom for one day, so they will not be able to wait until new empty flowers grow.
Proponents of removal claim that barren flowers take away nutrition from the bush, which reduces its productivity. But this is not true.
The plant is designed to actively produce flower stalks.
If you have well-filled the bed with nutrients and fed the bushes, then fruiting will be excellent in any case. If there is little nutrition, then removing the flower stalks will not save the plant from starvation.
If there are a lot of barren flowers on the bush and your hands are itching to remove them, then you can remove some of them. But in no case all of them.
Note: squash flowers can be eaten, for example, some summer residents fry them.
Sometimes it happens that huge leaves and empty flowers are formed, and there are almost no female flowers.
This can happen as a result of excess nitrogen. In this case, it is necessary to reduce nitrogen fertilizing, and then focus on potassium-phosphorus, since these substances are responsible for stimulating fruiting.
