Blossoms Missing

Question

A few days after removing the seeds from a store bought butternut squash (organic, not traditionally grown), I planted 4 of the seeds. The plants are doing wonderfully in our garden, but there seems to be an issue with the blossoms. It appears to be getting male blossoms, but all that is appearing is the stem and the green outer shell (for lack of a better description) of the blossom. The blossom itself is not there. Any idea why that would happen? I’m assuming that since the original fruit was store bought, something about the way it was stored from the farm to when it was sold may have something to do with it. Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

These plants appear to be young, and flowering out of stress. Heat can cause this. Your area would fit the bill for heat, it would seem.

It will likely be awhile before you see anything resembling a decent bloom, and they will all likely be male if you do see one. This will be the case until it is much cooler.

This article will give you information on the care of these plants: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/squash/growing-butternut-squash.htm

Answer 2

Thank you so much for the information. It’s our first time trying a garden here in the desert. I know we’ve made plenty of mistakes already, but we’re learning fast. It’s good to know that most likely, in the end, these plants may have a chance of producing fruit. Thank you again and have a wonderful day! – Janine