Q. The chrysanthemums in my garden grew really well this year but now they have all finished blooming and look pretty shabby. How should they be pruned?
A. Chrysanthemums are such reliable perennial plants that they are probably growing in almost every garden. After chrysanthemum plants have finished blooming, you should cut them back to within 6 inches of the ground. Then you can dig the clumps up and cut the roots apart if you want to divide them. Any old, woody centers should be discarded. Replant the clumps immediately at the same depth they originally grew.
Q. Our Fuerte avocado tree has its first crop of fruit on it. The tag on the tree said that the harvest season is November to June, but the fruits hanging on the tree are pretty hard. How can I tell when they are ready to harvest?
A. Like pears, avocados do not soften on the tree, so it’s difficult to determine when they are ripe. There is a slight change in skin color when they ripen, but it is difficult to detect. Those with a green skin, such as your Fuerte, will acquire a slight yellowish tinge; those with a dark skin, such as the Hass, will simply appear slightly greener. It’s better to simply cut one from the tree and see if it softens without shriveling when stored for a few days at room temperature. If it ripens satisfactorily, you can be pretty sure that the rest of the crop is probably mature also.
Q. We planted a Valencia orange tree two years ago and it has about a dozen oranges on it. The fruits have turned a nice orange color, but we picked an orange today and it was really sour. Did we get a bad tree?
A. Rind color is no indication of whether or not a citrus fruit is ripe. The peel of your Valencia oranges turned orange in response to winter weather, not because the fruit was ready for harvest. When the weather turns cool, photosynthesis slows down and the production of green chlorophyll decreases. The fruits lose their green color, revealing the orange (or yellow for grapefruit) hue that had been masked by the green.
Normally, Valencia oranges are not mature and sweet in our Inland valleys until about April. These comments also apply to other citrus fruits such as Gold Nugget and Encore mandarins as well as conventional grapefruit, which are also considered late season fruits. They will not be ready to eat until at least March or even April, regardless of peel color.
Ottillia “Toots” Bier has been a UC Cooperative Extension master gardener since 1980. Send comments and questions to features@pressenterprise.com.
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