Question
I live in a 12-unit building on Noe Street in San Francisco. We would like to add some color to the front of our building with a pair of large round planters (17" wide at the bottom, 26" wide at the top and 22" high). The building faces west and gets 5-6 hours of direct sun. One resident suggested hydrangeas. Is that a good choice? If so, do you have purple- or violet-colored ones? How much do they cost? Any other suggestions?
Peter
San Francisco
Answer
Hydrangeas could be used but they are not green year round. They are without leaves from November through March. We can order them for you in the colors you desire. To keep them purple, you will need to treat them with Hydrangea Blue or Aluminum sulphate each fall. You can detract from the "naked look by planting purple violas around them in the fall. The cost for a 5g pot is $29.99.
Other plant options are Camellia sasanqua ( 5g $44.99) with white or rose blooms in fall/winter, Tibouchina -5g $29.99 (also known as Princess flower) with velvety purple blooms summer and fall. These plants stay green year round. You might also consider a plant with more texture than flower such as Phormium (5g $39.99). You can accent any of these with a purple "spiller" such as Calibrachoa or purple lantana.
There are of course other options such as purple sage (Salvia leucantha), roses, and sun azaleas but these will require more grooming maintenance or not have a long bloom period.
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