[vineweevil1]

I started my cuc's off per packet instruction and now have a 20" fellow in my kitchen.  It has had one male flower open (Supposed to be an all female variety so not quite sure why he was there) and there is a tiny 3/4" cuc dangling.   Does the flower need to be polinated by insects when it opens?  Don't suppose it is self polinating like toms???

[Lee G]

It does depend on the variety I think, I'm growing Marketmore this year and it says to leave the male flowers on??

[Mowhay]

I believe most types (not all) require the male flowers to be removed as a pollinated cucumber is supposed to be sour?

[Kristen]

If it is a greenhouse variety male flowers should be removed - if the female is fertilised the fruit will taste bitter, supposedly.

There are F1 varieties bred to only produce female flowers - but I had a couple of male flowers on my F1 Cucumbers at the early part of last season, don't remember any male flowers after that.

Outdoor ones need to be fertilised, so leave the male flowers on those.

[Elcie]

Novice Q - how do you tell the difference between male and female flowers?

[DD.]

The female has a small, embryonic cucumber behind the flower, the male just has a thin stalk.

Enough said.

[DD.]

This is a courgette, but the principle is the same.

[Elcie]

The female has a small, embryonic cucumber behind the flower, the male just has a thin stalk.

Enough said.

So much potential for jokes!

Thanks for the answer.  Very easy really!

[realfood]

GREENHOUSE CUCUMBERS.

All-female F1 varieties.  This is a new type of Cucumber which is revolutionising the cultivation of Cucumbers. Unfortunately the seed is very expensive, but the results that are coming in, make the cost worthwhile. As the name suggests, they usually produce only female flowers, doing away with any pollination problems. Occasionally, some all-female varieties produce a few male flowers which should be promptly removed. This may happen if they have been stressed.

Traditional type of Cucumbers. This type is suggested for cool greenhouses and  usually produces long, straight and smooth green Cucumbers. Remove all male flowers as they form from this type of Cucumber, to prevent pollination of the female flowers and resulting bitter fruit.

OUTDOOR or Ridge CUCUMBERS.
These are really only suitable for the South of the UK in a sheltered and sunny location. You can of course grow outdoor cucumbers in a cold greenhouse in the North of the UK.

When growing these outdoor Cucumbers, leave the male flowers on the plant as the female flowers require pollination.

[DD.]

realfood - if this is a copy/paste from another site, could you please give a citation. Thanks.

[realfood]

Yes, it is from my own site.

[Quetzal]

i'm intending to be growing an outdoor cucumber in a greenhouse. Can i 'mate' it by hand by breaking off a male flower as i would with a squash, for example?

[sheridal]

So is it possible to grow marketmore inside a greenhouse?? or does it get too warm for them??? I have never grown them before and thought they all grew inside!!!

Thanks
Louisa