njsteve wrote:
...we have a little pumpkin
growing now on a vine that is growing up around a weeping pine tree.
I'm worried that when the pumpkin gets a little bigger the stress will
make it fall off or hurt it so it can't grow. Do you think it would
shock the plant if I cut some of the tentacles that are holding it to
the pine tree or should I just leave it alone?



Leave the plant alone. It sounds like the pumpkin is hanging from the
tree. If it gets too large, it could indeed break off. You can try to
support it to avoid that. Put something under the pumpkin to hold it up.

I wouldn't count on having a halloween pumpkin, however. A late start
means that the pumpkin might not ripen in time. Also, growing on a tree
is not the best place for the pumpkin, since it won't get full sun.

A couple of weeks before halloween, cut off the pumpkin and put it in
the sun, but protected from really cold weather. If it's far enough
along in its development, it could turn orange. If the vines die, cut
the pumpkin off immediately, since any problem in the vine can be
transmitted to the pumpkin stem. Most pumpkins have been cut by now to
allow the stems time to harden.