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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2007)
AUGUST 17.2007 jU$tpUt|<3 All About Hydrangeas Giving attention to color took a break from my usual weekend trips to the river, a favorite pastime all summer long. Instead, I spent the whole day in my garden, finally getting to the chores I’d been procras tinating for a solid month or two. 1 yanked out a shrub that was never going to be as small as I’d hoped, no matter how much pruning I did. I even planted a thing or two against my better advice of not planting things in the hottest month. 1 did this so I could adjust the color scheme a bit, making sure all the flowering plants were blooming in harmony. I spend so much of my gardening time concentrating on form and texture that I often overlook the one thing that so many people use as the basis to their gardens: color. eries in town. Of course, 1 will suggest following the I received an e-mail from a woman named instructions on the package. As for the coffee trick, Alyce that turned my attention to color. It’s a com I personally wouldn’t douse my plants in grounds mon, daily question 1 would overhear at the retail more than once a week. nursery, and the answer almost always came out as The color of your hydrangeas unfortunately easily as breathing. It has been a few years since I’ve won’t change overnight. It can take a whole grow had to answer the question, so it took a bit of ing season for it to transform into the hue you research to get it right again, but like riding a bicy desire. cle, it just comes right back. Pruning should be done pretty much immedi ately, once all the flowers have faded. Hydrangea D ear D irty D an : macrophylia will bloom on old w<xxl, which means One of your last columns makes it sound like you the branches that form this year will bloom next might know something about hydrangeas [“Heat year. 1 have made the mistake of pruning one in the Wave,” July 20]. How do you get the bushes to be fat, spring only to get only a few flowers come summer. thick and fluffy.' Mine are spindly but have great If you do pruning now, the plants have enough time blossoms. When do you {mine them! Also, how do you to flush out some new growth and harden off before change the colors of the blue and pink flowers and get winter arrives. Next year you will have so many those lovely purples like my neighbors have! flowers that you’ll be making bouquets for your neighbors. If you start adding aluminum now, those A lyce flowers might even start to become that perfect shade of purple that you are after. © Ladd’s Addition I Alyce, changing the color of your hydrangeas is To reach DIRTY D an , who will answer any and all of a matter of playing the part of a chemist in the soil your gardening questions, simply e-mail around your plants. But first you should start by dirtydthegardener&yahoo . com. making your plants thick, fat and fluffy. Hydrangea macrophylia and all of its many cultivars enjoy a situation that mimics where they grow natively in Japan. They are an understory plant in the forests there, where leaves fall and decay, creating a rich, moisture-retentive soil. In your garden, the same effect of falling leaves can be cre ated by mulching the root zone of your bushes. Regular watering of about every other week in the dry months will start to improve the overall health of your plants. When it comes to changing the color of your flowers, a little saying that my pal Penny used to tell me always sticks with me. “Add lime for pink because the second letter in both words is ‘i’.’’ That leaves the blue to purple flowers up to the acid soil. There are a few things that you can add to intensify the color you are after, Alyce. I have heard from folks that dump their coffee grounds around their plants. Another way is to score some aluminum sulfate, Homegrown chemistry comes in handy when adjusting the which is available at many nurs- hues of your hydrangeas. JMV The Law Office of John V. McVea, P.C. CRIMINAL DEFENSE • DUII / DWS • • • • PROPERTY CRIMES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THEFT ASSAULT PERSONAL INJURY • AUTO ACCIDENTS • WRONGFUL DEATH • BICYCLE / PEDESTRIAN • ABUSE VICTIMS • MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE 503-223-1708 www.mcvealaw.com Have you considered... Spirituality... without religion? Faith... without doctrine? Love... without condition? Join us at MCC Portland where all are welcome to worship. MCC Portland is a progressive community of faith welcoming all people with special outreach to the gay. lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Service times: Sundays. 9A. 11A and 6P MCC Portland 2A00 NE Broadway 503-281-8868 www mccportland.com You CAN see YO U Ss LIP0ATR0PHY (SUNKEN CHEEKS)? » • * / « «Î . JK ■ I J SCULPTRA injections can help you look as young and healthy as you feel. DR. MARLA ROSS, a board certified dermatologist, is your local sculptra expert. For consultation and treatment, call her at 503-245-2415 surgery SPECIALISTS northwest 10215 SW Hall Blvd • Portland 0/1 71 COAO 503.244.5368
