Once seeds have germinated, they will send up their first leaves, called seed leaves. The true leaves generally appear next. Yellow flowers blossom after the first three weeks of growth. Male flowers, which produce pollen, are seen first. About a week later, the female blossoms.
Female blossoms are easy to detect because they have tiny pumpkins at their base.
Blossoms live for only a half day, and will not open in cold, rainy weather. When both male and female blossoms appear on the vine, bees transfer the pollen from the males to the females. Once pollinated, the fruit at the base of the female blossom develops into a full-sized pumpkin. During this time, the plant continues to produce blossoms. The pumpkin contains seeds which can be saved to grow new pumpkins the following year.