12:51 pm

July 11, 2012

Hi GG,
I need your help and also some information on the topic subjected above. I have a Bottle Gourd ( the long one ) vine growing in a 12" container in my balcony. After two months of nurturing it seems ready to set fruits as I can see the male and female flowers are sprouting up.
My concern is – I can see at least 8-10 male flowers in the main vine whereas the no. of female flowers are only two. though no one has flowered yet but they are about to flower in 3-4 days. Please help me to understand
- Is it normal?
- Should i expect more female flowers as the vine grow with new shoots. New shoots are also coming up from the main vine.
- Is there a way to increase the no. of female flowers.
- I have just red in a gardening forum to prune / cut the main stem once it reaches to a length of 10 feet. This enhances the growth of female flowers. Is it right?
Plz help me on this as - this is my first experience of balcony gardening and also it has been an effort and a long wait to see the vine producing fruits and I really expect to be rewarded with good numbers of gourds. You can see the vine pics here.
Thanks in advance..
Viny
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