How long does it take for pumpkin buds to bloom?

12 years ago

Hello all,

Hubby and I planted our very first "real" garden ever (I have had experience with growing vegetables in planters, but never had the room before to actually dig a garden). Needless to say we have done extensive research on everything we've planted (and some stuff we'd like to plant next year) but every day and garden discovery brings other questions, some to which I find no answer. Sorry for the long intro, but I guess what I mean to say is that you're likely to see more posts from us in the coming weeks :)

Anywho, today's question is about pumpkins. We have 4 plants, 2 of which were started indoors back in March. We transplanted them in the garden proper about 5 weeks ago and they are thriving. The other two I planted about 3 weeks ago because my other seedlings died, and they are also doing very well.

My older plants have large, beautiful leaves and are growing like crazy. About two weeks ago, I started to notice some buds coming in and we now have about 10 good sized buds, which I know are male (we looked up male and female flowers and pollination, so I know that the first flowers will be male and will fall off, etc.). My question is, how long will it be until the buds actually flower? I read somewhere that the flowers open early in the morning, but I have yet to see a bloom. Is it normal for buds to be dormant this long? If not, is it a temperature problem? We used compost when planting, and fertilized about a week ago. We water the garden daily and the plants (leaves) are looking really healthy.

Am I just being impatient or is there something wrong with my pumpkins?

Any help much appreciated!

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Comments (6)

terrybull
12 years ago
mrs lizard, be patient it takes awhile the plant has to get to certain maturity. i know on mine that the vine has to get to certain length before it will put out a female.
regina_phalange
12 years ago
I planted pumpkin seedlings in early may and they are in bloom right now. Gorgeous neon orange flowers. I'm not sure exactly when the seedlings were started. I bought them from a local organic farm.
regina_phalange
12 years ago
Oh scratch the above post. It was the watermelon that we bought as seedlings. For pumpkins, I planted seeds directly into the ground in early may. So for me, it took about a month and half to bloom from seeds.
regina_phalange
12 years ago
What kind of pumpkins? Our seeds were the jack-o-lantern kind but I recently acquired some pumpkin pie type pumpkin seeds. That might make a difference.
bomber095
12 years ago
I started my pumpkins inside March 24, and set them out May 15. They are just now starting to open their buds. Patience is a virtue :-)
StarLizard
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for all the helpful info!

I don't know what kind of pumpkins they are, I simply harvested and dried the seeds from our last Halloween pumpkins, which were bought at a road side stall.

I guess as long as the plant is healthy and the buds aren't falling off, then patience it is :)

On a side note, we were pleasantly surprised today by our very first two female flower buds on our cucumber plant! They haven't bloomed yet, but they're coming in!