Garden Doctors: Best way to dry Mophead hydrangeas

Geri H. of Santa Rosa asks: How do you go about drying Mophead hydrangeas?

You need to wait to harvest and dry hydrangeas until the flowers are mature before you cut them off the plant. If you cut before then, they’ll shrivel. Mature blooms are reddish-green and feel rubbery or leathery, rather than papery.

After you cut them, bundle three stems together with rubber bands placed at the lowest part of the stems, then hang them upside down in a warm, dry room or garage.

Straighten out a jumbo paper clip and attach it to the rubber band, or use clothespins, to attach single stems to a coat hanger.

Rumor has it that you should hang them in brown paper bags, but this isn’t necessary if the stems are picked at the right time.

You could place the stems in vases and allow them to dry that way, but often times the blooms may flop open and they won’t be as attractive.

When the flowers are dried in sunlight, loss of color can occur, or if in a damp area, the flowers can turn brown, and moldy spots may appear.

Joanne R. of Windsor asks: What is the difference between bulbs, tubers, corms, etc?

A true bulb has a fully formed plant within the bulb. If you were to slice open a tulip bulb vertically, for example, you’d see a small baby tulip with flowers, stems, leaves and roots.

Some other examples of true bulbs are the amaryllis, hyacinth, daffodil, and lily.

Tuber: Potato “eyes” are really buds that are capable of producing both roots and shoots. The potato is actually a modified stem called a tuber. Ornamental plants, such as anemone, caladium, and cyclamen are also tubers.

Tuberous Roots: While the white potato is a “stem,” the sweet potato is a modified root, called a tuberous root.

This is a swollen root, not to be confused with a tuber. Fibrous roots develop and take in the moisture and nutrients needed to initiate new growth buds at the base of the old stem. In addition to sweet potatoes, begonias and dahlias are ornamental examples of tuberous roots.

Corms: The crocus grows from a modified stem called a corm. Corms are typically white with a chalk-like feel. They’re covered with papery fringes. Remember, a corm is not a bulb - it’s an impostor. The “Mother Corm” produces cormels, which come back each year. Gladiolus is another corm commonly but erroneously considered a bulb.

Rhizomes: The iris is actually an underground stem called a rhizome. Rhizomes grow horizontally underground, producing buds that sprout and grow aboveground, generating new plants. Cannas and Agapanthus are other well-known rhizomes.

The reason to know these different plant parts is so you can learn the correct ways to divide and propagate these plants.

As these underground growers continue to multiply year after year, it may be necessary to dig them up and move some, or share them with friends, so that the crowded bed will have more room to produce better-quality flowers.

Dana Lozano and Gwen Kilchherr are garden consultants. Send your gardening questions to The Garden Doctors, at pdgardendoctor@gmail.com. The Garden Doctors can answer questions only through their column, which appears twice a month in the newspaper and online at pressdemocrat.com.