Cucumbers are loved for their refreshing and crisp taste and texture. Also popular pickled, cucumbers add crunch and flavor to many vegetable recipes. In this article, we'll talk about growing cucumbers. Cucumbers are tender annual vines that can sprawl on the ground or be trained to climb. Both the large leaves and the stems are covered with short hairs; the flowers are yellow. Some plants have both male and female flowers on the same vine, and there may be ten male flowers to every female flower. Only the female flowers produce cucumbers. Some hybrid cucumbers have only female flowers but need some male flowers to produce. Seed companies will include seeds -- usually indicated by a pink dye on the seed -- that will produce male flowers with such hybrid varieties. These hybrids are usually more productive and set earlier than other varieties. Common Name: CucumberScientific Name: Cucumis sativusHardiness: Very Tender (will not survive frost) In the next section, we'll show you how to grow cucumbers.