Care problem

Flowers but no fruit

Tomatoes, peppers, squash and beans flower but drop blossoms or tiny fruit, usually from heat or poor pollination.

What you'll see

• Flowers open, then wither and fall without setting fruit.
• Tiny squash or cucumbers form, then yellow, shrivel and drop.
• Fruit set stops in a hot spell and picks up again as nights cool.

Why it happens

Days above about 95°F (35°C), nights below 55°F (13°C) or above 75°F (24°C), dry or soggy soil, heavy shade or too much nitrogen stop fruit setting. Squash, cucumbers and melons also need bees to carry pollen.

How to fix it

1. Wait out heat waves; most plants set fruit again when nights cool.
2. Water deeply and evenly, and give tomatoes and peppers afternoon shade in very hot weather.
3. Stop high-nitrogen feeding while plants are flowering.
4. Pick ripe vegetables often; regular harvesting keeps plants flowering.

Keep it from coming back

• Don't spray insect killers on open flowers; bees need to visit them.
• Grow vegetables in full sun, sheltered from hot, drying winds.
• Squash, cucumbers and melons have separate male and female flowers, and only pollinated female flowers make fruit.

Sources

• University of Maryland Extension: Poor blossom and fruit set of vegetables
• University of Maryland Extension: Pollination problems of vegetables

General guidance, not a diagnosis. For valuable, edible or outdoor crops, check with a local extension service or plant expert. Use any product exactly as its label says, and keep children and pets away while it dries.