Planting lettuce next to hydrangea - poisonous?

 

Not having a garden, I have a sort of gazebo on my parking lot in
front of
the office (my husband and I are self-employed) and I have loads of
pots
with all kinds of stuff growing.

I put a hydrangea in a large round terracotta pot and later on,
planted two small
lettuce heads next to it. The other lettuce heads I had planted in two
other
pots and in four window-boxes on my mini-balcony at home.

The lettuce heads in the hydrangea pot are growing like crazy, much
more
than the others which were planted a fortnight before, but I'm scared
to
eat them because hydrangeas are poisonous and I'm worried the lettuce
might have sucked up thy cyanide through the roots...

Any experiences in this respect?

Thanks!

Melanie

 

On Fri, 28 May 2010 08:24:12 -0700 (PDT), Melanie Sands


I've never heard it suggested that hydrangeas contain cyanide; where
did you get that idea? Laurel, yes, and most other prunus species, but
hydrangeas?? Even if they do, which I doubt, the lettuces won't take
it up through their roots.

Anyway, lettuce themselves contain small amounts of some poison or
other (it's in the stems, IIRC), can't remember what, but I'm sure
someone here will know.

Do you eat almonds? Now they _do_ contain cyanide; it's what makes
them taste almondy. Fortunately not enough to do you harm, unless of
course you develop a taste for bitter almonds. But it won't last
long....

--
 
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

 



I stand corrected! I've just done a Google search for Hydrangea and
cyanide, and yes, the leaves of some hydrangea species do contain
cyanogenic glycosides, capable of liberating cyanide under certain
circumstances. Most of the references related to people smoking the
leaves in attempts to get high, and getting very sick instead!
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_hydrangea.htm
But it was said that cyanide wasn't found in the common ornamental
hydrangea, and that the roots of hydrangea arborescens used to be used
as a diuretic. Either way, I still don't think that planting lettice
alongside hydrangea poses any threat whatsoever. If the worst comes to
the worst and the lettice tastes of almonds, don't eat it!

--
 
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

 


But that seems to be referring to Hydrangea paniculata, while I had
assumed that this thread was referring to Hydrangea macrophylla or a
close relative or hybrid.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

 

On Sat, 29 May 2010 12:42:12 +0100, Stewart Robert Hinsley


On re-reading the article, you may be right. But what advice would you
offer the OP?

--
 
Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net