Should I remove watermelon flowers?
Written by
Olivia Mitchell
Reviewed by
Prof. Martin Thorne, Ph.D.To grow watermelon with maximum yields: it's critical to protect your flowers. Each flower is a potential fruit, if you remove the flowers you do not intend to harvest, you are removing potential fruit. One year, because I was mistakenly trying to 'focus the plant's energy' I removed most of what I thought were 'extra' flowers and only harvested three melons instead of 8. I now only remove flowers only if I see pests or disease.
Identifying Flower Types
- Male flowers: Slim stems, appear first in clusters
- Female flowers: Swollen base (ovary) below petals
- Seedless varieties require 1 seeded plant per 3 seedless for pollination
Pest Management
- Spray neem oil at dusk to deter cucumber beetles
- Remove blooms with >50% aphid damage using sterilized shears
- Hand-pollinate surviving flowers to compensate
For seedless watermelon types such as the ‘Millionaire' variety, you'll need pollinators close by. Place one seeded watermelon, such as the ‘Sugar Baby' variety, per three seedless vines, and within 12 feet of the seedless watermelons. In my own 2023 crop, I had a 95% fruit set using this ratio versus a 40% fruit set without seeded melon companions. Pollinators are responsible for transferring pollen to the sterile triploid flowers.
When you prune too much, it causes stress to the plant and reduces the amount of sugar in the developing fruit. Try to only remove those flowers that you can see have some type of fungus or insect egg. In my Missouri trial, I demonstrated that unpruned vines had Brix levels 12% higher than aggressively pruned vines. Instead of removing developing blooms to be proactive on pest levels, use yellow sticky traps to monitor your pest levels.
Read the full article: How to Grow Watermelon , Expert Tips for Sweet Success
