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Vegetable Gardening

Luffa gourd won't flower

15 years ago

I have a luffa that was planted out quite a while back. The vine is about 8 feet long (on a trellis) and hasn't produced one flower yet. Is this normal? Temps around here have been in the 80's and 90's for a few months now and it's planted in a raised bed that I thought had plenty of fertilizer (organic) and organic matter in it. The cucumbers in the bed are growing just fine and flowering up a storm (although they aren't producing particularly well either, come to think of it). Is it a phosphorous problem, maybe?

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Comments (2)

annie-lee
15 years ago
Where are you, which State? Mine has not flowered either, I am in Maryland. I grow them almost each year and it usually fruit quite late, about late August, but all the way to October. One way to figure it out is has you grown them before and when did they start produing? Luffa produces quite early in tropical climate such as Taiwan.
corrigan
Original Author
15 years ago
I'm in western Tennessee, but I planted really late because it rained so much I couldn't work the soil. (Had to remove sod and cultivate in a new house.) I guess I'll just keep waiting then. Thanks!
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Hi Kelley, I'm a NJ native teaching English in South Korea due to the US economy and have been a long time trader on GW and Dave's garden. I have oodles of Korean luffa gourd seeds that I would be happy to send you. I have traded with several gardeners back home in the States so I know how strict US customs is with seeds- I pack all of my trades with care and discretion. In the four years that I've been trading with gardeners in the US, all of my seeds have reached their destination safely. I love flowers, vines, esp. morning glories, herbs, and anything fragrant. LMK what you have and I'm sure we can set up a trade. Postage to South Korea in a bubble mailer doesn't cost much more than a trade within the States. It ranges from $1.67 and up. The heaviest bubble mailer I received cos $3.75 to send and it was literally packed full of ziplock bags of chile pepper seeds. Warmest regards, Elizabeth
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If you're talking about luffas, mine have done fine and have tons of fruit but I have grown a variety that just didn't put on any. Where did you get the seeds? I had the same problem with long beans so don't beat yourself up if you fail with some of the veggies that might be prone to a day length problem. Just try another variety.
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OMG gardendee please please please, can i have some malunggay seeds? I have been trying to get this plant for a very long time now. By the way, I didn't know malunggay had seeds. Anyways, I dont know if it will grow in my area but I live in the Valley in LA and constantly buy malunggay when available but its not the same when you harvest fresh from the tree like when I was in Philippines.
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Congratulations on your gourd crop. I can tell you are very excited about them! This late in the growing season, you shouldn't worry about losing the blossom, but make sure they aren't dining on your gourds. You won't have any crop from the bloom that is on your vines now, so go ahead and spray the little blossom-eaters! We use Sevin spray or dust after the middle of August, knowing that we aren't counting on the insects for pollination. Jan
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