How to Hand Pollinate Zucchini

Pollination problems are the major culprit of shriveled zucchini fruit that never quite matures. If you've been having this problem, chances are that your zucchini needs your help to pollinate, especially if your garden lacks honeybees and other insects. Hand pollinating your zucchini is surprisingly easy with these steps.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Watch your zucchini closely for the maturation of its male and female flowers. Male flowers usually appear first and have a thin stem. Female flowers appear later and have a small, baby zucchini developing between the base of the flower and the vine. It is important that both male and female flowers are mature and opening on their own before you attempt to pollinate them.

2. Isolate the male flowers and carefully remove all of the petals to expose the stamen or pistol. This is where all the pollen is located. You can take a cotton swab or small paintbrush to sweep over the stamen to collect pollen or you can reserve the stamen itself for pollination.

3. Sweep the pollen from the male flower around the inside of the female flower. This part is the stigma, or the darkest colored part of the inside of the flower. The best time to do this is when the female flower opens naturally early in the morning. You can use the swab or paintbrush or simply use the male stamen.

Tips & Warnings

• One male flower can pollinate several female flowers. Although you don't have to, it isn't a bad idea to use the pollen from one plant to pollinate the female of another plant for genetic diversity.

• Make sure that pollination is the cause of your lackluster fruit production. Check that your plants have male and female flowers. Sometimes drought and disease can cause plants to produce only male flowers.

Resources

• Good photos of male and female squash flowers