Q: I bought male asparagus plants. They aren't supposed to bloom, and they are supposed to have more spears. But they have started flowering. Can they change into female plants, or did I not get what I paid for? What do I do now? Can I cut off the flowering stalks without hurting production?
A: Asparagus does come in separate male and female plants. Many plant species bear the male and female flowers on separate plants. They are called dioecious species. The male plant is androecious, and the female plant is gynoecious.
You are a bit mistaken in your assumptions about your male asparagus plants. They will have flowers. You don't have to cut off the flowering stalks. A female asparagus plant might produce berries if the flower is pollinated, and the production of berries could reduce the size and quantity of the spears. If your plants are female and produce berries, you can pull the berries off so the plant won't waste energy on them.
Q: We have an apple tree in our yard that is several years old and growing well. It doesn't produce any apples. Well, maybe one or two, but certainly not what is expected. It flowers well. What are we doing wrong?
A: Most apple varieties are self-unfruitful. Not only can they not pollinate themselves but they also can't be pollinated by other trees of the same kind. Apple tree varieties are clones. Each tree of a particular variety is genetically the same, even though it is growing on its own. As in your case, the tree may produce a few fruit, but to get the benefit of a tree full of apples, you need another apple variety nearby.
Not just any old apple variety will do. The trees need to bloom at the same time and be close enough that insects can easily move from one to the other. If you know what apple variety your tree is, then you can go on the internet and find charts that show the best apple tree varieties to pollinate it. Since crabapples are just small apples, some of them could be used to pollinate your tree if they bloom at the same time.
Some apple varieties are self-fruitful and don't need other apple varieties, but they will often bear more fruit if another apple variety is close by.
More Flower Information
Since it is spring and so many plants are blooming, take a little time to stop and smell the roses, or at least look at them. Both angiosperm flowers and gymnosperm cones can be male, female or both. About 85 percent of plants have flowers with both male and female parts and are known as hermaphrodites. The male portion may mature earlier than the female portion to prevent self-fertilization.
Plants that self-pollinate produce sexual offspring that are essentially clones. Heirloom seeds that produce crops nearly identical to the parent plant include self-pollinating hermaphrodite beans, soybeans, tomatoes and wheat.
Angiosperm plants that have separate male and female flowers on the same plant, and gymnosperm plants that have separate male and female cones on the same plant are called monoecious. The individual male and female parts may open at the same time, called synchronously monoecious (like corn), or they may open at different times, called consecutively monoecious plants (like melons).
About 6 percent of all plants are monoecious, and 6 percent are dioecious.
Email questions to Jeff Rugg at [email protected]. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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