I'm having trouble with one of my butternut pumpkin vines.
After the flower dies the pumpkin lasts for about a week then shivels and drops off.
The vine is very green and healthy, just no fruit.
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rainbowgardener
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Butternut pumpkin is what we in the states call butternut squash
("Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), also known in Australia as Butternut pumpkin[1], is a type of winter squash." wiki article)
What season are you in down under? I've been seeing posts from Aussies about the fierce summer you were having while we were buried under snow. We are a few weeks from spring now, doesn't that mean you are a few weeks from fall? When was your butternut whatever planted? How big is it?
The problem you are having is most likely pollination. If the female blossom is not pollinated, the little baby squash that was behind the flower never develops and shrivels up and dies. Do you see bees around your squash/pumpkin flowers? You can try hand pollinating.
Is it still so hot there? That can be another cause of difficulty for the plants to get pollinated:
"However, if female flowers are the ones dropping, [as opposed to the male flowers which always drop off when their function is fulfilled] then it is safe to conclude that some factor is preventing successful pollination. The most common culprits include excessively hot or cold temperatures and lack of bee activity due to weather, low population, etc. Some commonly used insecticides, including carbaryl (Sevin), are highly toxic to bees; so if you must apply such products, try to time your sprays for periods when the bees are not active. "https://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/sqblossomdrop.html
("Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), also known in Australia as Butternut pumpkin[1], is a type of winter squash." wiki article)
What season are you in down under? I've been seeing posts from Aussies about the fierce summer you were having while we were buried under snow. We are a few weeks from spring now, doesn't that mean you are a few weeks from fall? When was your butternut whatever planted? How big is it?
The problem you are having is most likely pollination. If the female blossom is not pollinated, the little baby squash that was behind the flower never develops and shrivels up and dies. Do you see bees around your squash/pumpkin flowers? You can try hand pollinating.
Is it still so hot there? That can be another cause of difficulty for the plants to get pollinated:
"However, if female flowers are the ones dropping, [as opposed to the male flowers which always drop off when their function is fulfilled] then it is safe to conclude that some factor is preventing successful pollination. The most common culprits include excessively hot or cold temperatures and lack of bee activity due to weather, low population, etc. Some commonly used insecticides, including carbaryl (Sevin), are highly toxic to bees; so if you must apply such products, try to time your sprays for periods when the bees are not active. "https://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/sqblossomdrop.html
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katylaide
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Yep, it sounds a bit like my zucchini problem. The flowers weren't opening properly before falling off, and I wasn't getting any edible zucchinis because they would shrivel up when they were still small. I'm fairly sure it was the excessively hot weather, because when I gave the plant a bit of shade, and the temperatures evened out a little, I started getting nice flowers and zucchini I could actually eat. But I don't know what the weather's been like where you are.
Do you have other butternut pumpkin plants?
Rainbow, we've just gone into autumn. I don't get how the seasons in the Northern hemisphere work. Here autumn starts with the start of March.
Do you have other butternut pumpkin plants?
Rainbow, we've just gone into autumn. I don't get how the seasons in the Northern hemisphere work. Here autumn starts with the start of March.
Northern/Southern Hemisphere season translator:
think of the months of the year as numbers. January = 1, February = 2, etc.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, March (usually) brings the onset of Spring. It is Month 3. Add 3 + 6 = 9. Aha! The translator tells you that Month 9, or September, will bring the onset of Spring to the Southern Hemisphere.
OTOH, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, March (usually) brings the onset of Fall. It is Month 3. Add 3 + 6 = 9. Aha! The translator tells you that Month 9, or September, will bring the onset of Fall to the Southern Hemisphere.
This works in every case.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
think of the months of the year as numbers. January = 1, February = 2, etc.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, March (usually) brings the onset of Spring. It is Month 3. Add 3 + 6 = 9. Aha! The translator tells you that Month 9, or September, will bring the onset of Spring to the Southern Hemisphere.
OTOH, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, March (usually) brings the onset of Fall. It is Month 3. Add 3 + 6 = 9. Aha! The translator tells you that Month 9, or September, will bring the onset of Fall to the Southern Hemisphere.
This works in every case.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
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katylaide
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But how come Rainbow says you're a few weeks from spring, wouldn't you have gone into spring the same time we went into autumn? I started getting confused by this when a French person told me their autumn was starting on September 22. So sorry, this is totally off the topic, but I super want to know.
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rainbowgardener
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Like AS said, we will go into spring, hit the spring equinox, actually Mar 20 this year (it varies a little bit, year to year). For some reason, probably having to do with time zones you will go into fall, hit the autumn equinox, the next day Mar. 21. You aren't officially in autumn yet, any more than we are officially in spring, according to astronomical calendars.
But what you are talking about is a cultural difference. I found this about seasons in Australia:
https://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/planets/the-sun-and-the-seasons/
It says:
In some parts of the world, such as Australia, seasons begin* on the first day of a particular calendar month - in March for Autumn, June for Winter, September for Spring and December for Summer. In other countries such as Britain [and the US!], it's accepted that the seasons begin on the dates that the Earth passes four special points in its orbit about the Sun.
*of course what that means is seasons are declared to begin
But what you are talking about is a cultural difference. I found this about seasons in Australia:
https://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/planets/the-sun-and-the-seasons/
It says:
In some parts of the world, such as Australia, seasons begin* on the first day of a particular calendar month - in March for Autumn, June for Winter, September for Spring and December for Summer. In other countries such as Britain [and the US!], it's accepted that the seasons begin on the dates that the Earth passes four special points in its orbit about the Sun.
*of course what that means is seasons are declared to begin
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gixxerific
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my pumpkins are still in the seed packet, hard to believe someone is growing them now.I have been hand pollinating, it must be the heat. We've had a few 40+ degree days here this season, my ferns are sticks in a pot. Next year I will have to put up some shade cloth over the vege patch I think, something I can roll off and on depending on the forecast.
We are almost at the end of summer. Our autumn is fine and sunny (unlike the other half of the country which has major flooding ATM).
Rainbow, don't forget the astronomical calendar has changed because of the chilean earthquake
We are almost at the end of summer. Our autumn is fine and sunny (unlike the other half of the country which has major flooding ATM).
Rainbow, don't forget the astronomical calendar has changed because of the chilean earthquake
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GrandMomMom
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rainbowgardener
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Not goofing... Allegedly the Chilean earthquake was so strong it changed the earth's axis position (by a few cm's) and thereby shortened the length of the day (by a few microseconds).GrandMomMom wrote:The astronomical calendar changed? Are we goofing on this old lady?
Here's an article:
https://www.vosizneias.com/50444/2010/03/02/santiago-nasa-chile-earthquake-may-have-shortened-days-on-earth/