[julietmaria]

Hi, this is my first time growing cucumber, and in a green house.  I have to remove the male flowers on my plants but finding it a bit confusing knowing which is the male and female flower.  Tried searching on google images but it was still not clear.   It seems to me that the male flowers are much bigger than the female flowers and infact the female does not really flower it just has about four green tiny leaves at the end of a really tiny cucumber.  I have a couple of baby cucumber flowers on the plant, like this, but have been away so not sure if I missed the flowers.  Do the male flowers have a sort of bulbous bit at the end?  Each plant has a few sections of what looks like 3 to 6 flowers growing from one point and I am struggling to know which flowers to break off.    Any detailed advice on the difference in male and female flowers would be really helpful.

Thanks so much and next time around I will grow ones that only have female flowers!
Juliet

[mumofstig]

there are some pics here

which variety are you growing julietmaria, as some do not have to have the male flowers removed....it's all very confusing 

[julietmaria]

Hi, thanks for the pictures.  I can't remember the name of the type I am growing but I do have to remove male flowers.  So the flowers both look very similar apart from the cucumber growing behind the female.  I am going to have a closer look at my plants now but hope I have not removed any female flowers in error.  Is the baby cucumber on the female very obvious when it flowers?  ie is it there when the flower opens.  So I should remove any flowers that have opened without a cucumber behind as it will be male?  If that is the case then that will be easier and I do not need to worry so much.  As flowers I have removed have all just been a flower, not on a baby cucumber.  Gosh it is all a bit confusing and time consuming.  I hope I get some cucumbers so it is all worth the effort!
Juliet

[mumofstig]

They are just as in the photos......... the mini cu behind the the female flowers always looks obvious to me, just pinch off all the flowers without one
Now you know what you're looking for, you'll be fine 

[compostqueen]

I thought that male flowers didn't appear unless the plant was under stress???

I don't take any off mine, and they fruit just fine 

[DD.]

It depends on the variety.

It's only F1's that are all female, the traditional varieties have both.

F1's can produce male flowers under stress.

[Kristen]

So the flowers both look very similar apart from the cucumber growing behind the female.  I am going to have a closer look at my plants now but hope I have not removed any female flowers in error.  Is the baby cucumber on the female very obvious when it flowers?  ie is it there when the flower opens.  So I should remove any flowers that have opened without a cucumber behind as it will be male?  I

Its normal for Cucumbers / Courgettes / Melons / Squash (I think they are all in the Cucumbit family?) to produce a flush of Male flowers before any female ones appear - so not a surprise that you haven't noticed any that are "different".

The male flower has what I can best describe as a "normal" flower stalk behind it.

The "stalk" that connects the female flower to the stem is noticeably different and hard to mistake.

So I reckon when the first female flower forms you'll spot it easily enough.

[DD.]

A picture paints a thousand words, here's two thousand:

Female - note embryonic cucumber behind the flower.....



Male - thin stalk only...