Pollinating yellow squash with zucchini?

CarolinaGirl 5/12/2012, 7:09 pm

So I have a yellow squash female flower that is about to flower, but for some reason there are no males even close to flowering on that plant yet (and the other yellow squash I have is younger and doesn't have any flowers yet). On the other hand the zucchini squash plant has a ton of males (and only one female that's opened so far). Does it HAVE to be a male yellow squash flower that pollinates it or can I use the zucchini?

elliephant 5/12/2012, 7:26 pm

Go right ahead! Only way it would matter would be if you were saving the seeds (which you can't do without letting the squash get overripe, anyway).

RC3291 4/17/2017, 4:40 pm

One of my squash and one zucchini have started blooming. Seems they have it timed so they have either all male or all female flowers only. Would it hurt anything to cut off the male flowers and save them to pollinate the female flowers when they bloom? I did read where you can pollinate squash with zucchini and vice versa as long as you're not planning on saving seeds. Supposedly they won't germinate. Comments?

BeetlesPerSqFt 4/17/2017, 5:22 pm

Here's an answer with research about saving pollen:
http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgc06/cgc6-46.html

I'm pretty sure you can cross zucchini with other squash to induce fruit formation - the squash will still make squash, and the zucchini will still make zucchini. Only the seeds are affected. But delicata, acorn, sweet dumpling squash, and pumpkins are the same species as zucchini, yellow summer squash, and patty pans, so crosses between any of those would likely yield seeds that would germinate.

RC3291 4/17/2017, 5:40 pm

Interesting read. Guess it won't hurt to try as they won't get pollinated if I don't.

**sanderson** 4/17/2017, 5:51 pm

RC, It seems that the male flowers appear first. Razz

Over time, though, there will be female flowers and you can pollinate them with any squash male pollen. Just don't save the seeds, as they will be a cross.

RC3291 4/17/2017, 6:04 pm

CarolinaGirl wrote:So I have a yellow squash female flower that is about to flower, but for some reason there are no males even close to flowering on that plant yet (and the other yellow squash I have is younger and doesn't have any flowers yet). On the other hand the zucchini squash plant has a ton of males (and only one female that's opened so far). Does it HAVE to be a male yellow squash flower that pollinates it or can I use the zucchini?

You can cross pollinate. More or less the same situation I'm having. Had all female flowers on both and now I have male flowers only on my zucchini and only one female left on a squash. looks like I may have more females tomorrow but the males will be gone.

Sponsored content

Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Pollinating yellow squash with zucchini?

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini

Re: Pollinating Squash and Zucchini


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.