So, just to understand the table of events; you bring them in out of the autumn cold before frost hits them. You keep them in the garage for a couple weeks... WHY? You water them do you in the garage? What temperature is the garage, you saved them from frost outside, but might they have been touched by frost in the garage? Then you bring them into the house and give them sunlight---what kind of exposure? You water them as they need it, and you fertilize to promote growth and bloom continueing. You keep them there all winter long and keep watering them about once a week. Do they dry down between the times you water? Or do you just use the schedule of a weeks apart when they are watered? Now they are srhiveling up....the buds drop. The "shriveling" suggests the plant is dry....but then if they don't get proper sunlight, they'll shrivel too. The buds drop because: either too little sun, too much sun...we can dispose of that, improper watering...what do you think of that, or the room they're in is too cool or where they are put is in direct line with a source of air that dries out the soil faster than you want it to. Your method is one of the ways geraniums are kept going after removing them from the cold air of autumn. The other methods are to promote total dormancy by putting them into a cool room, with no light, no water and being left alone until we wish them to grow again--which is just about this time..February...when they are brought out of dormancy, cut back, given fresh potting soil, watered well to drainage, placed into a sunny window and wait until new foliage results---then fresh flowering results later...maybe until after they go outside. The other way is to take cuttings and bring them along. I'd say the sunlight has caught up to them. Through winter they receive very little sun and are kept going as well as we can keep them. But, sunlight in winter is not dependable...and we expect something like this to happen. Now's the time to do as tho we had placed them into the cool room. Cut them back, about 4", clear them of all the soil from their roots, cut them as you think required, remove all dead branches and stems, all flowers that are dried up. Into a clean pot, with shards between the soil and the pot's drainage holes, fresh potting soil, watered to drainage, given good sunlight from a western, southern or eastern exposure....and no watering until new foliage re-appears. Then water as necessary but keep the soil on the damp side--but not wet, each time you water, water to drainage, dump the excess. It might take as long as a week or two to show results...new budding leaves. It might not show flower buds until it goes outside in May...but not to worry, the plant will come back, better than ever. As the foliage appears, you can begin fertilizing about 1/4 rate every 2nd or 3rd watering. Increase fertilizer only when the foliage suggests it needs it. Every day or two, turn the plant 1/4 turn so that every day the entire plant gets its fair share of sunlight. Outside into a container with potting soil and as much sun as you can give it. A northern exposure is not what it wants...southern or western is what is called for. I use the cool room method myself...I have a coldcellar and along with my preserves, are kept there, asleep, dry as all get out, not a drop do they get. I have 7 plants...5 of them celebrating their 8th birthday. I have, in the past, brought them out as early as mid February, ....but recently we have been in the Caribbean at this time so we get to it about the ides of March. At this time the sun is fast giving back what plants need and every day the sun gets better and better. You can decide whether you want to cut them back now, or place them where they can be left dormant, and bring them out next month.....but the plant deserves as much sun as you can give them. About watering on a schedule...not dependable. Through winter, the plant isn't using the water like it used to...and too much water then sits under it, and if left there, and watered more and more every week, soon begins to rot the roots. You can tell if this is happening when you unpot them. In any case, you are going to clean all the soil off the roots, and remove any damaged roots...they might even smell. The clean pot and fresh potting soil will solve that.

Hello all, Our pumpkins are doing the same thing. Some of the fallen ones were smaller than a marble, and none of the flowers opened. Only one was close to opening, and was probably 3-4 days away when it fell. The baby pumpkins turn yellow, the unopened blooms turn brown and they eventually fall off. We have no lack of male flowers or new baby pumpkins, but no female blooms :( We've fertilized, water adequately...it's been really hot the past week, could that be the problem? There is no evidence of pests or rot or anything else. The plants themselves are really healthy. Any help appreciated... - Star

Hi all!! I'm new to growing gourds, and while I know this is a pumpkin thread, I have been looking for an answer to why my luffa vine's female flower's start out appearing healthy and happy, but soon turn yellow and never full mature. I'm wondering if the same explanation might apply to this branch of the gourd family as well. I've had some healthy female flowers, 7 to be exact, on a vine that is easily 30 feet long (with all of its branch offs). I'm very mindful of the females because I'm told that one healthy vine can support up to 30 good sized loofah (luffa) gourds. I currently have 5 growing, and I believe a 6th was successfully pollinated by hand as were the previous 5. I contacted the site owner of luffa.info and he suggested I might have a fungus issue, or the water here in West Palm isn't all that great, but I can't find a definitive answer, and this is the only vine I have and I was hoping for a healthy crop of loofahs for gifts, but unless I figure out the reason for poorly maturing females...there's no way I'm gonna see even half that amount. Do you think it could simply be a matter of the vine needing to grow more in order to support more fruits? I only ask because while it's still branching, the rapid growth I saw over the last few months has slowed dramatically, and the vine may be close to, or has already reached it's maximum size. As best I can tell the vine is very healthy, and has been lightly fertilized, and I was hoping someone that's an experienced gourd grower, if not loofah, might be willing to help a newbie gardener. Any thoughts or possibly pointing me in the right direction if this is the wrong area in the forum to be inquiring about loofahs, would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks! 40Acres

actually, they probably will not ripen indoors, unless thee is at least some yellow on the skin of the fruit. (supposedly over 7 percent yellow is needed) obviously, you can try, also, some people use them green, and make a type of cole-slaw - salad green papaya salad / Som Tum https://www.google.com/search?q=green+papaya+salad -- i fight this every year, trying to get ripe fruit before winter. i am in New Orleans (zone 9) if i protect the tree with frost cloth, and plant it very close to the house (south-side), it will come back in spring, and i get 2 - 3 months of fruit in the fall. then...' i still have to compete with the critters. they even took a fruit off the tree when i put a sock around it... LOL i am guessing my neighbor with find a sock in his yard somewhere... 2 plants next to the house, with evergreens on the side i chop the top few inches a couple times a year when young to keep them short.