Texture, flowers, fall color, exfoliating bark, and unusual cultivars are the great attributes. Fussiness under container culture, sun-shyness (particularly in the South), and disheveled winter habit might be considered liabilities. Once ensconced in the garden, all is forgiven – as for the puppy who chewed the slippers – because there is much to love.
–Michael Dirr, Hydrangeas for American Gardens
A sprawling cluster of beefy leaves, peeling bark, and sumptuous blooms with a sensible common name indicating its foliar affinity to Quercus rubra (red oak), oakleaf hydrangea is a delightful component of the hydrangea collection here at Secrest Arboretum. It is a tough cookie, having been recorded flowering at the Morton Arboretum after enduring winter weather dropping to –20 °F. Once in the ground, it is self-sufficient, requiring minimal pruning, which is best done after flowering. A willing transplant, the key to success with Hydrangea quercifolia seems to boil down to selecting a fine specimen in the nursery and site selection. Michael Dirr indicates strongly that well-drained soil is the key to success with this species.
Hydrangea quercifolia lacks the commercial appeal of its brethren. Dirr notes that Ohio’s Willoway Nursery sells “over 280,000 hydrangeas per year with H. quercifolia constituting 2.6% of the total.” While it transplants easily, there is a difficulty in producing plants in three-gallon pots (or smaller) that look attractive for the average homeowner. I can say from personal experience that oakleaf hydrangeas are difficult to manage without some effort in the nursery, and in turn, more difficult than others to justify the return on the investment. Cercospora leafspot, while not a killer in the gardens, is a disfiguring disease in production.
Hydrangea quercifolia is certainly a fine plant for our summer months, with its June blooms lasting the better part of a month. It can tolerate difficult degrees of light, although I prefer it in shade, as it will produce enormous leaves and protect the sepals from browning too quickly in the midsummer heat. It does not disappoint as the seasons change, producing bloody reds and bruised purples on its leaves, in conjunction with the beautiful cinnamon-colored peeling bark. Dirr is skeptical of quercifolia’s ability to tolerate all soil conditions, noting evidence of foliar chlorosis.
The state wildflower of Alabama, Hydrangea quercifolia can find a sweet home in your garden. Go on and treat yourself to one (or more) at our plant sale this October!
Sources cited:
Dirr, M. (1997). Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An illustrated encyclopedia. Timber Press.
Dirr, M., & Dirr, B. L. (2021). The Hydrangea Book: The Authoritative Guide: Species, newest cultivars, culture,
propagation, production, breeding and landscape use. Stipes Publishing L.L.C.
–Alex Lavrisha, Plant Materials Specialist, Secrest Arboretum lavrisha5@osu.edu