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Oregon

I now have 2 females that will be ready for pollination tomorrow but it does not look like I will have a male to pollinate with. can I use a day old male to pollinate with or can I open a new male early and use it?

7/28/2011 10:37:08 PM

Germany

The first should work, the second probably won´t. When you have only a few males available you may pick some of them (which are just ready to open or just opened) one or two days before pollination, and put their stalks in a jar with some water and keep them in the fridge. They won´t feel like getting older, their pollen should still be ok the next few days. Additional benefit: nice pumpkin flower fragrance in your fridge.
Opening a too young male should be a problem, because you can open the flower but it would be hard to open the little cavities where the pollen is actually sitting. When you have a closer look at an open male (one which opened by itself) you will notice that there are many thin channels filled with pollen. As long as the male flower is still closed and right after opening these channels are still sealed and will pop up within a few hours to be ready with good pollen right after sunrise.

7/29/2011 2:22:57 AM

Oregon

thank you pumpking. that cleared it up perfectly!

7/29/2011 12:25:30 PM

Oregon

I was not able to find a older male that still had pollen on it to use,I have 2 that will open tomorrow morning. can I use those on a day old female or has the moment passed?

7/29/2011 3:27:00 PM

Germany

Oh well, bumblebees and other insects are extremely busy taking every little piece of pollen home, especially from the very yummy pumpkin males. My experience is that almost all pollen has gone some hours after sunrise. As to the one day old female, I have no experience with that, I only know that they might stay open for another day when weather is cool or rainy, and I suspect that having not been pollinated might be the reason for that, for them to wait for another lucky day. Hence, it will be the only thing you can try, to get some pollen on the one day old female tomorrow. Let´s see if it works...we are still learning about pumpkin habits. Good luck!

7/29/2011 3:33:13 PM

Oregon

thanks so much for your help. this site has allowed me to grow pumpkins fairly well for my first year. I will keep you posted on how the day old female reacts with a fresh male

7/29/2011 4:08:25 PM

Oregon

I thought I would just reply that my day old females that I pollinated a day late took the fertilization and are now on their way to being nice pumpkins

8/2/2011 11:40:35 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Pumpking, hungry bees, is why lots of folks take males inside the nite b/4 they are ready to do the deed!!! a lil sunlight or heat will translate into plenty of un/bee/stolen pollen for you to use to do the deed!!! Be sure to lable each, as controlled is better than BEEZ!!! Peace, Wayne

8/2/2011 11:50:59 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

avaunt, when was this pollination done, w/ two day old female? How big is pkn now? Sorry, not meaning to be a downer, but have read that the pollination opportunity is very short lived...can NOT be done the next day? Wishing you the best, but not sure about the "day after" thing? Peace, Wayne

8/2/2011 11:55:45 PM

Germany

Wayne, bees are one thing, but having a plant devoid of an open male for pollination is the other thing, and also a good reason for keeping a male in the fridge for the next day, isn´t it? Of course, some heat and sunlight will help the pollen get ready. It was a very cool morning (right after sunrise) when I noticed that some males were open but the pollen was still hidden...no yellow dusty stuff at all. (Oh yes, I tried to get up before the insects do in order to pick some males.) Half an hour later everything was ok, pollen was then ready for transfer to female.

8/4/2011 6:19:20 AM

Oregon

so both of my day old females took the pollen. one is about 6 pounds and the other about 3. I will plan ahead next time and bring some males in the night before just to make sure I dont have to hope it takes the pollen.I also heard that the female doesnt like to take a day after. I just opened up the females and pollenated them(they were pretty much closed).I was su
prised they took the males and next time I wont have to do this hope and prayer dance.

8/5/2011 4:15:29 PM

Germany

Well done. Good luck with the pumpkin growing nicely without any troubles. Just a warning at this point: If the flower had been open the first day, you should not attempt to grow the seeds of your pumpkins next year. You have pollinated the day old flower, but someone else (no matter which insect) might have brought along some pollen from a mile away from a different C.maxima, from any little Hubbard thing. AGs will take this pollen, and you might run into troubles next year with a 50-pounder despite best pumpkin care, so be aware of that. (No worries, the kind of pollen will not influence the size of your pumpkin this year, it could also become a Hokkaido-pollinated giant.)

8/5/2011 6:23:17 PM