Help / Advice on squash please?

[PeterVV]

My summer ( not sure as seeds got mixed up ) squash are romping along, do they need pollination, i.e. male & female flowers? the reason I ask is one of my plants whic has green balls behind the flowers, has just produced a male flower, yet my other plant which has yellow balls behind the flowers has no male flowers at all? strange thing is they look identical apart from the ball color, and both plants have about 15 of these on them, some seem to be starting to rot where the flower has died back?

[PeterVV]

[green lily]

Most do need pollinating if not all.[ie all I know of]. Most set male  flowers before female but  don't worry there will be more along shortly.... Usually the bumblebees do the work but if you feel they need help take a male plant, gently tear off the petals and rub the polleny bit  into the female flowers centre.  :)

[Jeannine]

Male flowers are on a stem, female flowers have a tiny squash behind the flower, you cannot get a male flower with a tiny fruit behind it.

At what point are they rotting. If before they gain any size it will be unpollinated female fruit. If they have started to grow and die back there are several reasons, if rotting at the blossom end it could be blossom end rot, just the same as tomatoes get.

There are always many male flowers before females .

How big is the plant, it may be it is not mature enough to have both flowers.

XX Jeannine

[Alex133]

That's interesting Jeannine - always wondered why some of them rot when small while others just keep swelling.

[Jeannine]

Just like people really LOL XX Jeannine

[PeterVV]

Male flowers are on a stem, female flowers have a tiny squash behind the flower, you cannot get a male flower with a tiny fruit behind it.

At what point are they rotting. If before they gain any size it will be unpollinated female fruit. If they have started to grow and die back there are several reasons, if rotting at the blossom end it could be blossom end rot, just the same as tomatoes get.

There are always many male flowers before females .

How big is the plant, it may be it is not mature enough to have both flowers.

XX Jeannine

Plants are a good bush size, about 3 foot or so and one ( the one with yellow balls) has a runner about 5 foot long on it, but no male flowers?, the other has a runner about 3 footm, and has produced only 1 male flower???

[Jeannine]

It is a winter squash if it has runners that long. The flowers will come along don't worry, they are slower growing than the summer squash

XX Jeannine

[PeterVV]

It is a winter squash if it has runners that long. The flowers will come along don't worry, they are slower growing than the summer squash

XX Jeannine

The two plants are the most vigorous out of all the squash that I put in, the others ( the butternut are a quarter of the size, and not flowering yet. Should I cut the runners back? or just let it sprawl all over?
Is there a chanve one of these ( the one with green balls on it ) could be a pumpkin?

[Jeannine]

Just let them go, there is nothing to be gained by cutting them as yoiu don't know what they are.

XX Jeannine

[PeterVV]

Strange turn of events, the green fruit are now pale green with green stripes, and look a bit like melons?, and are bigger than the yellow ones...