All female Butternut squash?

[Hungry Hannah]

Hiya

First year of growing BNS and have noticed after 2 fruits failed to set, that I do not appear to have any male flowers on the plant. I cant remember what type it is as had to get it from garden centre after killing mine (whoops) Can you get all females? if if yes- then how come they failed to set? As expeiment and as time is getting along and dont want to miss out on getting fruit- have attempeted to pollinate it from a courgette. will this work?

Ta xx

[SarzWix]

I've never heard of an all-female butternut... You can get parthenocarpic (self-pollinating) courgettes these days, but butternuts...
Crossing with a courgette might well be good enough to get fruit set, they are quite promiscuous between the types. I wouldn't bother saving the seeds from it though, unless you want some experimental fruits

[chriscross1966]

Any cucurbit will fertilize any other, and indeed frequently better thant the variety will fertilize itself..... from memory one of my butternuts was set with a gherkin and at least one with a Marketmore cucmber, the rest with squash of other varieties apart from one unnatural act commited with a pumpkin flower (the pumpkin flowers are huge).... I generally use different male flowers, pull one off its plant, strip the petals off the flower to leave the antehrs , prise open the female flower and rub one onto the other..... I seem to get 100% set on flowers treated thuswise....

chrisc

[Nogreenfingers]

Well, so far all my butternut have had male flowers