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!
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Disclosure: Homestead and Chill is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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
Lathilde Froad
I echo what others have said – this video and explanations were the best I’ve seen – detailed and simple enough to help the novice – I was afraid of damaging the blossoms before – I tried this this morning and I’m hoping for some good results — who knew I could be a bee ?
thank you for the very informative education … we don’t know what we don’t know –
HappyCyclist
I forgot to ask. I found a few ants crawling around my squash plant. Is this something you’ve encountered in your raised box? Because the squash plant came from the compost, and I had lots of ants in the compost derived from vegetable cuttings, pasta water and/or rice water. I used this batch of compost as fertilizer and to plant the squash. Is it common to find ants in your garden box? And is it something to beware about? Thank you, Deanna.
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Ants are everywhere and are very difficult to get rid of, especially outdoors. We have ants that come out of most of our raised garden beds every time we water. As long as the ants aren’t actively farming aphids on your plants they don’t do much damage otherwise. Thanks.
happycyclist
Thank you for this timely video, because I finally have squash growing in my backyard. I got six of these growing accidentally from making compost! I call this “accidental gardening.” This morning my husband said that a flower has bloomed. I quickly ran outside to start the pollination process, but alas, I found only one female flower and 2 males closed tight. The timing of squash romance is not ready. My squash plant looks like yours, and I have a large one growing and it looks like an acorn shaped squash – not your typical oblong zucchini shaped squash. Hmm…
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
If it’s the morning and the flowers are closed, they are either young or old. If the flowers are slightly wilty and closed, they are most likely older and the male flowers can be manually opened to collect pollen from. They won’t have as much as fresh flowers but it usually works.
Mellie0514
This video was by far the very best on hand pollinating that I have seen. Thank you so very much for posting it with such clear pictures of the lady flower and the male flower. VERY helpful!!
I did go ahead and pull 2 male blooms off one of my plants and put them in a ziploc bag in the fridge, only because I don’t have any lady flowers ready to pollinate at this time. I’ve pollinated 2 ladies by hand, and so far the zucchini have not dropped off and are growing (I’d lost 7 by not knowing how to do this!!!). I’m so excited! I may get some zucchini from my garden yet this summer!
Again, thank you so much for your excellent video!
Killoran
Excellent video. Very informative and well filmed. The flower parts and even the pollen were super clear.
I do have one small issue, however. re: “… any squash can technically cross-pollinate any other squash, regardless if it is a summer or winter variety. They’re all the same species!”
I agree that most garden varieties of squash are all Cucurbita pepo and all pepos will cross breed like little bunnies, but before attempting to pollinate one squash with another it’s best to be sure. There are four common Cucurbits grown by gardeners. I am currently growing a C maxima, Red Kuri. I’ve grown other Hubbards and Peanut pumpkins (Galeux d’Eysine) in previous years, but I’m seed saving the maximas this year so I only planted one variety.. I have a C moschata going as well this year, the huge butternut Southern Crookneck. Other butternuts and a variety called cheese pumpkins are also C moschata. I did not find any C. mixta this year, but examples are Cushaws, Jack be Littles and a variety of ornamental squash. And, since I’m not seed saving any pepos this year I have several of them growing.
So much is possible, but it’s unlikely my butternuts will cross pollinate with my zucchinis or the Hubbard. Just be careful. Keep up the great work!
Amy Beckel
Hello, and thanks for such good (and fun!) information. Have you ever tried using zucchini to pollinate cucumbers? I’m going to try, since I have lots of male zucchini blossoms but very few male cucumber blossoms. I do have lots of tiny, shriveled, un-pollinated cukes though.
Thanks for your help!
DeannaCat
Hey there! No, I don’t think you can use squash to pollinate cukes, but you can follow the same process described in this article to pollinate the cucumbers with other cucumber flowers! Best of luck!
SH
Nope… that will not work, they are different species (zuccini: Cucurbita pepo, cucumbers: Cucumis sativus). If you look at the scientific name, that will show you if it is a match and can cross pollinate (it is usually on your seed packet, or you can search it online). If the first scientific name is different, you are good to go. If the first name is the same, look at the second name. If the second part of the scientific name is different, then they usually do not cross. Some cross easier than others. Search for a seed saving guide for more info. as there are free ones available online. If you find a good one, print it to a pdf and save it to your computer as things go missing online all the time. The one I wanted to send you a link to is no longer working… glad I saved it! Hope this helps.
Terry Sheeran
This was the best YouTube video I’ve seen about hand pollination. Thank you so much for the up close and personal demonstration!
Cheryl
Hello! Thanks for this info on hand pollinating. Do you also recommend pruning the lower leaves and overlapping leaves (from two plants) to increase production?
DeannaCat
Hi Cheryl, I don’t think that would necessarily impact production – but it could help increase airflow between the plants and reduce the issues with disease and pests if they’re overly crowded. If you didn’t see it, you may be interested in reading our “How to Grow Summer Squash/Zucchini” article for more tips. Thanks for being here!
Jacelyn Tyson
Do I need to wait until my male and female zucchini blossoms are about that size before pollinating them? Mine are currently about a third of the size of the ones in your video.
DeannaCat
Hi Jacelyn – No, as soon as they’re open, either are ready for pollination! Different squash varieties may have different size flowers too. Good luck!
Nikki
Deanna,
Thank you so much for this information. I have begun hand pollinating my blossoms on my summer squash varieties, however, I am still struggling to keep my baby squash from shriveling and falling to the ground. Any other tips or short falls I should be watching for?
Sally
Hello! My first two blossoms on my squash plants were lady blossoms, so they weren’t able to get pollinated. Now that the flower is shriveling up, where/how do I prune them? Just the flower? Or all the way at the base of the fruit?
Thanks for your help!
DeannaCat
Hi Sally, we usually just leave the flower and fruit and don’t bother with removing the flower. They will usually just wilt away and fall off eventually anyway. You can still allow the squash to grow a little bit but be sure to harvest it before it has signs of end rot which usually occurs on unpollinated fruit. Good luck and have fun!