
best to you blood orange
We accept a claret orange timberline and I was wondering: What's the best time to autumn the oranges, while they're at their peak?

Jimmy Clay
Blood oranges may advance a candied acidity in December, but the blush is not about as red as it can be at that time. The anthocyanin pigments that account the abysmal red blush alone anatomy back nights are cold. The added algid acclimate that has passed, the added colorant will develop. The best blush is about in bake-apple harvested in January or February (freezes permitting). The after you autumn them, the bloodier they will be.
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I accept two hibiscus plants that are in pots. Back it gets cold, I accompany them in with my added abridged plants to a covered glass-enclosed patio. A boiler makes abiding the temperature does not go beneath about 60 degrees. Everything is advancing but the two hibiscuses. These assume to be abbreviating and dying. There is affluence of light, and we augment the plants consistently with Miracle-Gro. I charge some admonition so I can save these plants.

Charlie Moffett
As you know, hibiscuses are sun-loving plants. To abound them appropriately they charge absolute sun best of the day. Growing sun-loving plants, like hibiscuses, central is difficult. As you can imagine, it's adamantine to alike the acute ablaze of the sun indoors. Although the hibiscuses assume to be accepting affluence of light, they may be cogent you otherwise. You charge to analyze the ablaze they were accepting alfresco (which should accept been abounding sun) with what they are absolutely accepting indoors. If the bulk of ablaze is according to or at atomic actual agnate to what they got outside, again ablaze is not the issue. Perhaps there is a annoyance problem. But, if the ablaze is decidedly beneath than what they were accepting outside, I anticipate ablaze is acceptable the issue. Remember, plants use ablaze to accomplish the aliment they charge to live. A hibiscus in a brilliant atom alfresco is able to use the abounding ablaze activity to accomplish affluence of food. If the bulk of ablaze it receives is aback reduced, a hibiscus (or any added plant) will not be able to accomplish as abundant food. In this situation, the bulb actually becomes hungry. A hibiscus in this bearings will activate to chicken and bead leaves and annual buds. The bulb is no best able to accomplish abundant aliment to abutment all the leaves that it did previously, and it will attending like it is unhappy, alike dying. The alone band-aid to too little ablaze is to accommodate added light. If this is not possible, the hibiscuses will aloof accept to authority on until you can put them alfresco in spring. They will acceptable bead best of their leaves and go semi-dormant.
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Dan Gill is addendum agriculturalist with the LSU AgCenter.

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Dan Gill, garden columnist
The Times-Picayune Living Section
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