- Cucumber flowers are a bright yellow color that attracts bees and other beneficial insects for pollination. The trumpet-shaped blooms are either male or female, and the insects must transfer the pollen from the male to the female flower. The male flowers, which develop first, sit at the end of a thin stem. The female flowers are set closer to the vine on a small cucumber that cannot develop without pollination.
- Cucumbers develop after pollination. However, sometimes problems with pollination cause problems with the developing fruit. A lack of insects for pollination will reduce the plant's yield. Even if pollination does occur and cucumbers are present, water stress and high temperatures that can kill pollen will cause misshapen cucumbers. Use pesticides carefully to maintain a healthy population of beneficial insects.
- Cucumber plants have large, lobed leaves with a prickly, spongy texture. The large leaves protect flowers and fruit from the weather. Cucumber and its relatives make good companion plants for corn because the unusual texture of the leaves bothers the feet of some critters like raccoons and keeps these pests away from the corn.
- Observing the leaves of the cucumber plants is the best way to determine if you have a pest or disease problem. Aphids leave telltale signs on the leaves like honeydew stains, and wilted leaves may be a sign that cucumber beetles are feasting on the plant. Powdery mildew shows up on leaves as a white powder, and mosaic virus creates a yellow and green mottling across the leaves.