Parthenocarpic cucumbers are one of the most interesting types of cucumbers you can grow in your garden As the name suggests, parthenocarpic cucumbers are able to produce fruit without pollination. This gives them some unique advantages over standard cucumber varieties
In this complete guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about growing parthenocarpic cucumbers successfully, including:
- What are parthenocarpic cucumbers?
- Why grow parthenocarpic cucumbers?
- Types of parthenocarpic cucumbers
- Best parthenocarpic cucumber varieties
- Growing tips for parthenocarpic cucumbers
- Common questions about parthenocarpic cucumbers
Let’s get started!
What Are Parthenocarpic Cucumbers?
Parthenocarpic cucumbers are able to set fruit and produce cucumbers without requiring pollination. Most standard cucumber varieties require pollen to be transferred from male flowers to female flowers in order to produce cucumbers. However, parthenocarpic cucumbers have been bred to eliminate the need for pollination.
Some key facts about parthenocarpic cucumbers:
- They produce mostly female flowers, so do not require pollen from male flowers.
- The female flowers are able to develop into cucumbers without being pollinated.
- Parthenocarpic cucumbers will be seedless if unpollinated, as seeds require pollination to form.
- They can be pollinated to produce seeded cucumbers, but this is not necessary for fruit production.
While sometimes called “self-pollinating”, this is a bit of a misnomer – they do not pollinate themselves at all. The term “parthenocarpic” comes from Greek words meaning “virgin fruit”, referring to the lack of pollination needed.
Why Grow Parthenocarpic Cucumbers?
Growing parthenocarpic cucumber varieties offers some great advantages:
Higher and more consistent yields
By not relying on pollination, parthenocarpic cucumbers produce more consistently, regardless of pollinator activity. Standard cucumber yields can fluctuate greatly depending on the success of natural or manual pollination. Parthenocarpic varieties eliminate this variability.
Flexible growing conditions
Parthenocarpic cucumbers can be grown in greenhouses and other protected structures where natural pollinators have limited access. You don’t need to rely on bees or other pollinators.
Seedless cucumbers
Parthenocarpic cucumbers will be seedless if they are not pollinated. Many people prefer the taste and texture of seedless cucumber varieties.
Less risk of disease
By growing in protected conditions, parthenocarpic cucumbers can avoid field-borne diseases. Also, not relying on pollinators reduces the risk of transmitting diseases that affect bees.
Lower labor requirements
You avoid the tedious work of manually pollinating flowers that some standard cucumber varieties require for good yields.
For both home gardeners and commercial growers, parthenocarpic cucumbers offer advantages that make them a popular choice to grow.
Types of Parthenocarpic Cucumbers
There are parthenocarpic varieties of most major types of cucumbers:
Slicing Cucumbers
Long, smooth cucumbers meant for fresh eating. Often they are nearly seedless, with thin, tender skin. Popular parthenocarpic slicing varieties include Diva, Fanfare, Juno, and Sweet Success.
Pickling Cucumbers
Smaller cucumbers bred for pickling. Parthenocarpic versions allow reliable harvests for canning. Good parthenocarpic pickling varieties are Rocky, County Fair, and Calypso.
Beit Alpha Cucumbers
A type of Middle Eastern cucumber with very thin, smooth skin and a delicate, nearly seedless interior. Excellent eaten fresh. Parthenocarpic varieties like Passandra, Katrina, and Socrates are popular.
Cocktail Cucumbers
Extra small cucumbers, often 2-4 inches long. Their small size makes them perfect individual snacks or garnishes. Parthenocarpic cocktail cucumbers include Minime, Little Leaf, and Piccolino.
No matter what type you want to grow, there are parthenocarpic varieties optimized for that use.
Best Parthenocarpic Cucumber Varieties
Here are some of the best parthenocarpic cucumber varieties to grow:
Sweet Success
One of the most popular parthenocarpic English slicing cucumbers. Produces smooth, dark green 12”+ long fruits with a deliciously sweet flavor and crisp texture.
Diva
A disease-resistant parthenocarpic variety producing 6-8” long fruits perfect for slicing. This variety has performed well nationally in trials.
Socrates
A thin-skinned Beit Alpha type. Cold tolerant and can produce late into the fall. Tender 6-8” fruits.
Katrina
A heat-tolerant pickling parthenocarpic cucumber. Reliably produces large yields of 6” fruits even in hot weather.
Passandra
A high-yielding variety producing tender, thin-skinned 4” Beit Alpha cucumbers. Tolerates cool weather better than most.
Piccolino
Prolific variety producing lots of 3-4” uniform, sweet cocktail cucumbers on disease-resistant vines.
Little Leaf (H-19)
A parthenocarpic pickling variety bred for container growing. Compact semi-bush plant produces prolific 3-4” fruits.
Iznik
Another semi-bush variety producing abundant crops of 3-4” thin-skinned cocktail cucumbers. Great for small space gardens.
These are some of the top-performing parthenocarpic varieties, but there are many others to choose from. Select varieties suited to your climate and the types of cucumbers you prefer.
Growing Tips for Parthenocarpic Cucumbers
Here are some tips to grow parthenocarpic cucumbers successfully:
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Start seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before your last frost date. Transplant seedlings when soil warms to at least 60°F.
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Cucumbers need full sun – at least 6 hours of direct sun per day.
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Plant in nitrogen-rich soil and use a balanced vegetable fertilizer. Side-dress growing plants with extra nitrogen fertilizer.
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Space plants 12-24 inches apart in rows 3-5 feet apart. Or plant in hills with 2-3 plants per hill spaced 2 feet apart.
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Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to provide consistent moisture. Cucumber plants need about 1-2 inches of water per week.
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Use row covers, cloches, or tunnels to protect plants and allow earlier planting and extended harvests. Parthenocarpic cucumbers excel in protected growing conditions.
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Harvest cucumbers regularly to promote more fruit production. Generally harvest when fruits are 6-8 inches long.
Provide parthenocarpic cucumbers the right conditions and you’ll enjoy abundant, tasty yields!
Common Questions about Parthenocarpic Cucumbers
Are parthenocarpic cucumbers GMOs?
No, parthenocarpic cucumbers are produced through traditional breeding methods, not genetic engineering. The parthenocarpic trait results from crossing varieties with high parthenocarpic tendencies.
Do parthenocarpic cucumbers require pollination to produce fruit?
Parthenocarpic cucumbers do not require pollination – their fruits will develop without pollen transfer taking place. However, they can be pollinated to produce seeded fruits. It is just not necessary for fruit production.
Can you save seeds from parthenocarpic cucumbers?
Generally you cannot save seeds from hybrid parthenocarpic cucumbers and expect them to grow true to type. The parthenocarpic trait is recessive, so seeds harvested from parthenocarpic cucumbers will not reliably grow into parthenocarpic plants next generation.
How are parthenocarpic cucumbers different from gynoecious cucumbers?
Gynoecious cucumbers produce mostly female flowers, but still require pollination to set fruit. Parthenocarpic cucumbers produce mostly female flowers and do not require pollination to produce cucumbers.
Are parthenocarpic cucumbers bitter?
Parthenocarpic cucumbers are not inherently bitter – breeders select non-bitter fruits for parthenocarpic varieties. However, any cucumber can become bitter if allowed to over-mature on the vine. Harvest parthenocarpic cucumbers when fruits are 6-8” long.
Conclusion
Parthenocarpic cucumbers offer gardeners some clear advantages – higher yields, greater flexibility, and less reliance on pollination. By understanding what they are and how to grow them properly, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest!
The best parthenocarpic varieties like Sweet Success, Diva, Socrates and others provide disease-resistance and great performance across many growing conditions. Give parthenocarpic cucumbers a try this season for your best cucumber crop ever!
Greens and Other Brassicas
There are some veggies that we don’t want to form a flower. This would include things like mustard greens, lettuce, collards, kale, and spinach. Flower formation in these vegetables signals the end of their growth cycle. It can happen as temperatures warm in the spring and summer months. It can also be triggered by plant stress due to drought.
Many of the vegetables we grow are self-pollinating. This means that the flowers have both male and female parts and pollinate themselves. While the flowers may attract bees and other pollinators, insect pollination is not necessary. Examples of self-pollinating vegetables include beans, peas, okra, tomatoes, pepper, and eggplant. The “fruit” or vegetable does form from the flower, but the flower pollinates itself. If you live in area with minimal bee populations, you can still grow these vegetables without any issues.
Corn sits in its own unique category because it is pollinated by the wind. Corn plants produce male flowers (called tassels) on the top of the plant and female flowers (silks) along the plant. For the corn plant to produce a full ear of corn, the pollen from tassel must be transferred to the silks. This doesn’t require insects but does require a little wind. This is also why corn grows best when planted in larger, square blocks as opposed to just a few plants.
Vegetables Needing Insect Pollination
These vegetables have two types of flowers on their plants. They have a male flower which contains pollen and a female flower that contains ovaries. For successful fruit formation, the pollen on the male flower must be transferred to the female flower. When that happens, a fruit will form from the female flower. You can easily distinguish between a male and female flower because the female flower will usually have a tiny immature fruit at the base of it. If you take a closer look at squash flowers, you’ll see a tiny squash at the base of the female flower. When that flower is pollinated, that tiny fruit will become a larger fruit. If that flower is not pollinated, that flower will eventually fall off the plant. Backyard vegetables that require pollination include squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other melons. There are some varieties of cucumbers and squash that don’t require pollination, but that’s another subject for a future blog. We won’t get into the details of that process here. All these vegetables will greatly benefit from the presence of bees and other insect pollinators. The more bees you have present, the greater your harvests will be. Bees usually do most of their pollinating in the morning hours. You can walk outside in the early morning and see bees buzzing around your squash and cucumber plants. But what if you don’t have any bees near your garden? What can you do to ensure you still get production from these plants? One easy solution is to plant flowers among your vegetable plants to encourage the presence of pollinators. We do this every year, and it works very well to bring the bees to our garden. Our favorite flowers for attracting pollinators include zinnias, marigolds, ageratum, and sunflowers. Another solution for small-scale gardeners is hand-pollination. This is easier to do with squash and pumpkins than cucumbers or watermelons because the squash and pumpkin flowers are much larger. To hand-pollinate plants, take a Q tip and brush it inside of the male flower to collect pollen. Then find a female flower and tap the pollen into the female flower. This process in not always practical on a medium to large backyard garden. But if you have just a few plants, it may be a great way to ensure harvests.