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Prune your hydrangeas at just the right time

Pruning hydrangeas starts with knowing what type you have. Danielle from Poland asks, “When should I prune my hydrangeas? I have two or three varieties and don’t know when they should be pruned.” Danielle, the short answer is that hydrangeas should be pruned according to when they ...

Joys of growing asparagus

I didn’t eat asparagus until I was married. Bill’s mom had wild stashes of asparagus stands that were very old. She watched and waited, and then, at the right time, she would pick the beautiful stems to eat. Asparagus is a member of the lily family planted for the amazing harvests of ...

Valley Grows Calendar

Here are upcoming gardening events through the Ohio State University Extension Office. For more information and a complete list, contact: • OSU Mahoning County Extension Office, 490 S. Broad St., Canfield. 330-533-5538. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. • OSU Trumbull County Extension Office, 520 W. Main St. Suite 1, Cortland. 330-638-6783. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Plant and Pest Clinic You can submit your questions by calling the Mahoning County office at 330-533-5538 or emailing us at mahoningclinic@osu.edu. ...

Father feels invisible in fight over inheritance

DEAR ANNIE: My 90-year-old father has been married to his third wife, who is 85, for nearly 33 years. Between them, they have five adult children: two are his and three are hers. For their entire marriage, they have relied largely on my father’s retirement account to pay their day-to-day living expenses. His wife does not have a retirement account of her own. They also have two homes. One is a summer cottage that was in her family before they married. The other is a winter home they purchased together. Recently, as they began revising their wills, my father said he wanted things to ...

Low DEXA requires medicine for bones

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 74-year-old man. I have a DEXA score of -3.3. I take 1,200 mg of calcium with vitamin D daily. I lift weights and swim two to three times a week. My doctor put me on Prolia, and I had six months of infections. He switched me to Fosamax, and my blood pressure was 201/121 mmHg. I found a Phase 4 clinical trial showing that Fosamax can cause high blood pressure, but my doctor says that Fosamax “doesn’t cause high blood pressure.” I’m reluctant to try the other bisphosphonates for fear that they will do the same as Fosamax. Do I try the other drugs one at a ...