I am growing cucumbers for the first time this year and decided to grow the telegraph greenhouse variety. Books tell me that I should remove all male flowers from the plants otherwise the fruits will be bitter. Please can someone tell me how I can distinguish between female and male flowers? I believe I am right in saying that telegraph cucumbers should be long, straight and smooth skinned, however the fruits that have developed on my plants are far from that. They have spikes on them and curl like a banana. Will the spikes disappear and smooth out?

Thanks
Paul

Paul_77 said:


I am growing cucumbers for the first time this year and decided to grow
the telegraph greenhouse variety. Books tell me that I should remove
all male flowers from the plants otherwise the fruits will be bitter.
Please can someone tell me how I can distinguish between female and
male flowers?

The male flowers don't have a tiny cucumber behind them; they just
have a short stem. The greenhouse varieties should be able to set
fruit without pollination, which will be seedless. (Bitterness has more
to do with water stress and variety than pollination.)

I believe I am right in saying that telegraph cucumbers
should be long, straight and smooth skinned, however the fruits that
have developed on my plants are far from that. They have spikes on
them and curl like a banana. Will the spikes disappear and smooth
out?

They are most likely to grow straight when the plants are grown on
trellises or some other support so that the fruits hang suspended as
they grow.

The spikey bits are normal on immature cucumbers. When the cuke is
mature enough, the spikey bits will drop off (or can be easily rubbed off).

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)