How to Hand Pollinate Zucchini and Squash to Prevent End Rot, Increase Yields
Have you ever tried to grow zucchini or other squash, but much to your dismay, the promising little fruit rots and falls off instead of growing to mature size? The squash flower mostly likely didn’t get pollinated, but it’s really easy to do yourself! This quick tutorial will show you exactly how to hand pollinate zucchini and other types of squash to prevent end rot and increase yields. I’ve also addressed some frequently asked questions, and included a demonstration video.
These tips apply to hand pollinating summer squash (e.g. zucchini, patty pan, or crookneck squash) as well as winter squash like butternut, pumpkins, or acorn squash. As fellow members of the cucurbit family, you can use the same method to hand pollinate cucumbers and melons too!
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RELATED: Pop over to our guide on how to grow zucchini and summer squash for even more tips, and don’t miss these 13 excellent ways to use zucchini – including recipes for fresh eating and preserving. Our sourdough zucchini bread recipe is one of my favorites!
What happens when zucchini flowers aren’t pollinated?
When a female squash flower doesn’t get pollinated, the small attached fruit will fail to develop. It will stay stunted, start to rot from the flower end, and eventually die and fall off. Therefore, if you want to ensure your plants produce plenty of edible squash for you to enjoy, hand pollinating zucchini can vastly increase their success – and your yields!
If your garden has a healthy bee population, they may pollinate the flowers for you. Yet even here in our garden, which is bursting with pollinator plants and buzzing with bees, we still find that some squash develop end rot due to lack of pollination on occasion! So I still routinely hand-pollinate. Why not guarantee success?
Male vs Female Zucchini Flowers
In order to hand pollinate squash, you’ll need to be able to identify the difference between the male and female flowers. Both play an important role in pollination and fruit development!
A female zucchini flower is most easily identified by the little immature squash fruit attached at the base of the flower. For other types of cucurbits, you’ll see the same thing: a tiny butternut squash, tiny cucumber, or tiny melon at the base of the female flower. Additionally, if you peek inside the flower, the inner bits are more round and curvaceous. That’s called the stigma.
On the contrary, a male zucchini flower has a plain straight stem at the base of the flower rather than a small fruit. Inside is the anther: a straight appendage with a pollen-covered tip. See the images below.
How to Hand Pollinate Squash
To hand pollinate zucchini and squash, first identify both an open male and female flower. Then simply transfer pollen from the male flower’s anther onto the female flower’s stigma. It’s so easy to do, and just a small amount of pollen will do the job! Here are a few different methods you can use to transfer pollen from the male to female blossom:
- Some folks remove the male flower from the plant, peel back its petals, and rub the pollen-covered anther directly on the female flower’s stigma. I personally don’t love this method; I prefer to leave the blossom in place for the bees, or for later pollination use!
- Others gardeners use a Q-tip for hand pollination. In my experience, a lot of the pollen sticks to the Q-tip itself, leading to less pollen transferring from flower to flower.
- My favorite way to hand pollinate squash is with a dainty paint brush. Use the paint brush to collect some pollen from the male, spread some onto the female stigma (or many ladies), and it’s done! Using a paintbrush is really effective, but also feels fun and fancy. I leave my pollination paint brush out in the garden during squash season.
- Each female flower only needs to be pollinated one time.
- Don’t have a male and female flower open at the same time? Keep reading for more tips below.
When to Hand Pollinate Squash
It’s best to hand pollinate zucchini and squash flowers as soon as they open (the same day if possible).
I’ve found that most squash blossoms open in the morning and close up by the evening, so checking daily is important if you want to pollinate them all. However, sometimes they can open at various times of day, so morning isn’t necessarily a steadfast guarantee.
If you miss the initial bloom – don’t fret! You can carefully peel open the flowers (once they have already opened and closed) to access their insides for a couple days after if needed. This goes for both males and female flowers, which is just one more reason to not pick off the males.
What if I only have male or female zucchini flowers?
Some gardeners get frustrated because their plants produce only male flowers, or only female flowers, but not both at the same time. Don’t worry. It’s not uncommon for squash plants to produce one or the other more heavily early in the season. They should naturally even out as the plant matures, usually within a few weeks.
Very hot weather can also make zucchini plants produce more male flowers. It may be worthwhile to protect your plants with shade cloth during prolonged heat over 95°F. We always grow several squash plants to help ensure there will be a good mix of male and female flowers open around the same time.
Can I use different squash varieties to hand pollinate each other?
Absolutely. While it’s ideal to use similar varieties when possible, you can also use the pollen from different varieties of squash to hand-pollinate others when needed. Bees don’t discriminate and will naturally cross-pollinate between your plants after all! The squash will develop just fine.
However, for the best fruit development, try to stick to the same general family by keeping summer squash and winter squash separate. For instance, use the male flower of a yellow crookneck squash to pollinate a green zucchini female, or a butternut squash to pollinate a pumpkin.
After cross-pollination, you won’t be able to save seeds from those fruit since the next generation will not “breed true” to the parent plant variety. Again, this would likely be the case with natural bee pollination between varieties in your garden anyway.
Demonstration Video
Don’t mind my sense of humor!
That concludes this lesson on hand pollination.
Now go have fun diddlin’ some squash of your own! I hope you found this helpful, and that you’re blessed with plenty of healthy zucchini this summer. Please feel free to ask any questions, and spread the love by sharing or reviewing this post.
If you find yourself with some large overgrown squash, you should try our Fiesta-Style Stuffed Squash recipe! Loaded with wild rice, black beans, veggies, flavor, and protein… you can’t go wrong. Or check out the other zucchini recipes below:
- Delicious Sourdough Zucchini Bread Recipe (Optional Walnuts or Chocolate)
- The Best Zucchini Relish Recipe (Canning, Freezer or Refrigerator)
- 13 Must-Try Zucchini Recipes: Clever Ways to Use Zucchini
- Easy Parmesan Zucchini Fritters Recipe (Healthy Yogurt Dill Sauce)
- How to Freeze Zucchini (Summer Squash) Two Ways
How to Hand Pollinate Zucchini and Squash (Prevent End Rot, Increase Yields)
Equipment
- squash plants
- small paint brush or q-tip (optional)
Instructions
- First identify both an open male and female flower. See tips in the notes below if you don't have both types open a the same time.
- A female zucchini flower has an immature squash fruit attached at the base of the flower. Additionally, there is a bulbous, curvaceous stigma inside the flower.
- A male zucchini flower has a plain straight stem at the base of the flower rather than a small fruit. Inside is the anther: a straight appendage with a pollen-covered tip.
- Next, transfer pollen from the inside of the male flower to the inside of the female flower. We like to use a small paint brush to collect and transfer the pollen. Other options include a q-tip, or plucking the male flower off the plant, peel back the petals, and rub it directly inside the female.
- It's best to hand-pollinate squash the first time the flower opens (often in the morning) so check your plants daily!
- You can use flowers from different plants or even different varieties of squash to hand-pollinate one another if needed.
- Each flower only needs to be pollinated one time, and now a squash will develop as expected.
Notes
Deanna Talerico
Deanna Talerico (aka DeannaCat) is a garden educator and writer with over 15 years experience in organic gardening. She is a retired Senior Environmental Health Specialist, and holds a M.A. in Environmental Studies and B.S. in Sustainability and Natural Resources.
68 Comments
Chelsey
Thank you for writing this! It’s been the most helpful post I’ve found on this subject. I was worried that my zucchini had only produced a female flower but now I know that it’s totally normal early in the season. Cheers!
Jeanne Nation
Thank you for the zucchini info. I love zucchini and have had a hard time getting any fruit from them. I have 3 planted right now so I’ll be watching closely! I need to go find an old make up brush. I can’t wait till they blossom it will be a fun project to do with my grandson 🙂
Rae
I use makeup brushes to pollinate. It was out of necessity when I used one out of my “bike to work” makeup kit when my office Meyer lemon bloomed, but now I swear by them. Frequently, they come in cute travel kits that fit in your pocket and can be easily washed and stored. As someone who wears little makeup, it is nice to find a use for all those fancy brushes!
Kristen Loudenburg
Hello there! I was so disappointed last summer when my zucchini plants didn’t produce any zucchini. I had dreams of harvesting many zucchini and I got several blooms but then nothing happened. I now know I should have helped the plants along with a little squash sex! I have some zucchini plants growing currently but the flowers aren’t opening. Any suggestions?
DeannaCat
They will, just give them time! Usually several days after the flowers form, they’ll open. But they’ll usually only open for one day, or even just part of one day, so make sure to check regularly! I think you’ll have some great zucchini harvests in your near future 🙂
Sara
I tried hand pollinating for the first time and it seems to be working wonders. I didn’t have a paint brush around unfortunately so I did use Qtip. The pollen definitely stuck to it just like you said so I will be getting a paint brush to use for next time! My squash seem to be growing happily and FAST and it was a really fun thing to do! Squash sex for the win!
admin
Yasss! I love this feedback! Hooray for big healthy squash sex! 🙂 Lol
Allyson
Hi Deanna,
I was wondering if you need to hand pollinate other fruits/veggies or if it is just for the squash family? I’m growing cucumbers and watermelon and not sure if I need to hand pollinate them?
Thank you!
DeannaCat
Good questions! Yes, the same can be helpful for them as well! I should have mentioned that in this post… Sorry, too much squash sex on the brain:) The same applies for male and females too – with the ones with tiny fruits attached being the girls. Happy growing!
Ashlie
This article was super helpful and we have seen immediate results after hand pollinating our zucchini and yellow squash plants. I haven’t had any luck with our pumpkins so far this year even with the hand pollination, does this apply to pumpkins too?
DeannaCat
I’m so glad you’re seeing the results! And yes, it should work for pumpkins just the same. We haven’t grown as many pumpkins but I do recall them holding fewer fruit on the vines than summer squash… Maybe that is it? Keep at it!
Christine
My squash plants always rot at the stem between the stem and the bottom leaves. What is causing it and how do I stop/prevent it?
DeannaCat
Hmmm… Where do you live? Have you heard of squash vine borers? Is there sawdust looking stuff, and/or holes in the stems too – or just rot? Or are they simply wilting there? Old leaves do die off right there sometimes – but it shouldn’t be happening with newer growth. Could be a pest/disease, or maybe a watering issue. They have shallow roots and like to be moist, but not soggy. Sorry, there are just so many factors! I hope this maybe helps narrow it down
Carolyn Holz
My mom and I have the same problem . . . . ours has a sawdust looking stuff in the general area. It appears to be vine borers . . . just above the ground level. I am not sure how to prevent these. We have strawed, placed leaves at bottom on broken clay pots and tried a few other things, but not sure how to minimize even more. HELP Deanna?
Thanks,
Carol
Sherri
What summer squash varieties do you grow? I saw the dunja zucchini and was curious what your other favorites are. I have raised beds also and I am always trying to maximize space.
Thanks!
Sherri
DeannaCat
We love the Dunja as a “regular” green zucchini since it is powdery mildew resistant. This year we are also growing a cocozelle type (which we always do) that is also PM resistant, and it’s doing great! The specific variety is called “Dario” – from High Mowing Seeds. Our favorite yellow summer squash is called “Butta” 🙂
Tanja Rohn
Totally helpful! Deanna, keep up the awesome content!
Lacey Daniels
I think I’ve had a summer squash plant of some variety every summer since I can remember, and have never tried hand-pollinating. I’ve always gotten pretty decent results in fruit yield, but now I’m super curious to see how much more it’ll produce with hand-pollinating. Then again, I ended up with 6 zucchini plants I just couldn’t part with this year, so I’ll probably have more than I’ll know what to do with as-is, lol!
Appreciate all of the posts you do! Super informative, helpful, well-illustrated, but to the point as well.