Shortening a cucumber plant

MargeS

Is it ok to cut the top off a cucumber plant to stop vertical growth?

pconn062

Has the plant set any fruit yet? Is it a climbing or ridge variety do you know?

The Master.

pconn062 wrote: »

Has the plant set any fruit yet? Is it a climbing or ridge variety do you know?

My cucumber plant is on a table in the greenhouse and dangling down. Loads of flowers but only two cucumbers so far. Should I have trained it to grow up?

pconn062

The Master. wrote: »

My cucumber plant is on a table in the greenhouse and dangling down. Loads of flowers but only two cucumbers so far. Should I have trained it to grow up?

It depends on the variety. You have the ridge or outdoor types which generally grow along the ground. Most indoor or greenhouse types are usually trained up a string. Gives you a much bigger yield.

Also I sometimes need to hand pollinate the flowers if I'm getting lots of flowers but no fruit, particularly if there aren't a lot of pollinators getting to the plant.

The Master.

pconn062 wrote: »

It depends on the variety. You have the ridge or outdoor types which generally grow along the ground. Most indoor or greenhouse types are usually trained up a string. Gives you a much bigger yield.

Also I sometimes need to hand pollinate the flowers if I'm getting lots of flowers but no fruit, particularly if there aren't a lot of pollinators getting to the plant.

That's really interesting, I have loads of flowers but i can see the start of the tiny fruits behind them. Can a plant pollinate itself or do you need a second? This is the first year I'm growing and I'm a bit fed up with it. I was part of a GIY group but obvs everything cancelled so flying solo.

pconn062

The Master. wrote: »

That's really interesting, I have loads of flowers but i can see the start of the tiny fruits behind them. Can a plant pollinate itself or do you need a second? This is the first year I'm growing and I'm a bit fed up with it. I was part of a GIY group but obvs everything cancelled so flying solo.

A plant typically gets pollinated by insects, bees etc. You don't need two cucumber plants to pollinate. You can shake the plant gently which helps spread the pollen. What I have found to be the best is to take a small, clean paint brush and rub the inside of all the flowers, spreading the pollen around. Cucumbers come in two types, male and female plants or all female varieties. Most of the never hybrids are all female and you can tell a female flower by the small cucumbers that form behind the flower. You only need to pollinate the female flowers. If a flower doesn't get pollinated it will dry up and fall off.

It is easy to get frustrated with growing when you start, and it can be overwhelming. The key in my experience is not to get too upset with failures, they happen everyone. Focus on starting small and having small successes. Some plants are trickier to grow, including cucumbers and like any skill it takes time, learning and practice.

The Master.

pconn062 wrote: »

A plant typically gets pollinated by insects, bees etc. You don't need two cucumber plants to pollinate. You can shake the plant gently which helps spread the pollen. What I have found to be the best is to take a small, clean paint brush and rub the inside of all the flowers, spreading the pollen around. Cucumbers come in two types, male and female plants or all female varieties. Most of the never hybrids are all female and you can tell a female flower by the small cucumbers that form behind the flower. You only need to pollinate the female flowers. If a flower doesn't get pollinated it will dry up and fall off.

It is easy to get frustrated with growing when you start, and it can be overwhelming. The key in my experience is not to get too upset with failures, they happen everyone. Focus on starting small and having small successes. Some plants are trickier to grow, including cucumbers and like any skill it takes time, learning and practice.

This is exactly my problem.i started off too big and bit off more than I could chew. I had seeds germinating all over the house from early on and lost track of what was what.
Some high winds and dry spells caught me out.
Actually the cucumbers are one of the things that seem to be doing well.

MargeS

I have Cucumber Telegraph improved.

I have a 'few' in the house that I was successful with, and they are all producing fruit & flowers. But they are climbing a string and are ceiling height now. Basically it's becoming a jungle!
I was wondering if I could top the plants to stop the vertical growth and keep trimming the suckers.

Hocus Focus

MargeS wrote: »

I have Cucumber Telegraph improved.

I have a 'few' in the house that I was successful with, and they are all producing fruit & flowers. But they are climbing a string and are ceiling height now. Basically it's becoming a jungle!
I was wondering if I could top the plants to stop the vertical growth and keep trimming the suckers.

I would say "yes". Once you have plenty of flowers you can just control any further growth to fit the space you have available.