How Do I Pollinate Cantaloupe Melons by Hand?

Cantaloupe melons grown under glass must be hand-pollinated because bees and other pollinators rarely enter enclosed growing structures. Even outdoor melons benefit from hand-pollination in cool or wet weather when insects are less active. Without pollination, female flowers drop off without setting fruit, and a whole season's growing effort produces nothing. Hand-pollination is quick, simple, and takes only a few minutes each morning during the flowering period.

Identifying male and female flowers

Male flowers have a slender, straight stem leading directly to the base of the flower. Female flowers have a small, round swelling — the immature fruit — between the stem and the base of the flower. Both flower types are yellow and open for only one day. Male flowers typically open before female flowers and continue to open throughout the flowering period. Flowers are usually fully open mid-morning when pollen is most readily available.

The hand-pollination technique

To hand-pollinate, pick a freshly opened male flower and peel back the petals to expose the central stamen covered in yellow pollen. Gently but firmly touch the stamen against the central stigma inside each open female flower, pressing lightly to transfer pollen. One male flower provides enough pollen for two to three female flowers. Alternatively, use a small, clean, dry paintbrush to collect pollen from the male and apply it to the female — this gives more precise control and avoids bruising the flowers.

After pollination — thinning fruits

Once pollinated female flowers show the first signs of fruit swelling — the tiny melon beginning to enlarge behind the wilted petals — thin to the number of fruits you want to ripen (typically two to three per plant for full-size melons, or up to four for smaller varieties). Remove any surplus developing fruits cleanly with scissors. Concentrating the plant's resources into fewer fruits consistently produces larger, sweeter, fully ripened melons than allowing many fruits to develop simultaneously.