How to Pollinate a Watermelon Plant

Melon plants produce both male and female blossoms on each plant. In order for a watermelon to grow in a garden, a male flower must pollinate a female flower. In standard gardens, this pollination often occurs when the wind blows or when insects flit from flower to flower with pollen on their bodies. If you are growing watermelons in an enclosed area where natural pollination will not occur, you may need to hand pollinate the female flowers to ensure a watermelon harvest at the end of the summer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Watermelon plant with both male and female flowers
• Scissors

1. Find the male and female flowers on the watermelon plant. There are usually more male flowers than female flowers growing on a watermelon plant. Male flowers are smaller than the female flowers. The female flowers have a large green ovary beneath the blossom where the watermelon will develop after pollination.

2. Clip off a male flower and remove all of the petals from it early in the morning when the flower is at its peak of freshness. This will leave the stamen exposed with the pollen clearly visible.

3. Take the prepared male flower over to a female blossom that is also at its peak of freshness. The female flower must be perfectly open. Brush the pollen from the male flower carefully over the center area of the female flower (the stigma). If you can find another perfect male flower, repeat this process with a second flower on the same female flower.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as often as possible to pollinate the female flowers on your watermelon plants.

5. Watch for the pollinated female blossoms to close up tightly the next day. Over the next two to three days, the ovary under the blossom will begin to grow noticeably into a watermelon.

References

• Watermelon Pollination