Courgette questions

[robfosters]

This morning a flower on my F1 defender had opened right up. Looked great. However, when I got home today, it had closed up again and hasn't opened since.

Is this normal behaviour?

Also, am I right in thinking F1's need no pollination? And I have seen the flowers deep fried. The flower is now closed, so can the flower be removed from the courgette before it has finished growing?

[rustylady]

You will probably find that the flowers open during the early(ish) part of the day. They may or may not open again tomorrow.

All courgettes need pollinating, makes no difference whether they are F1 hybrid or not.

After pollination the flowers usually drop off.

[robfosters]

Well each plant has courgettes growing so I can assume pollination is OK.

[chris]

They'll grow slightly, but if they're not pollinated they'll drop off (the actual small courgette), or go a bit funny.

That said, you can still use them (and the flower! - just remove the stamen). Stuff the flower with some cheese (nice, soft stuff!), dip in batter and deep fry. YUM!

[Potstubsdustbins]

I find my courgette flowers open and close all the time nothing to worry about.

Colin