Hydrangea quercifolia

? Hydrangea quericifolia
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cornales Family: Hydrangeaceae Genus: Hydrangea Species: H. quercifolia
Binomial name
Hydrangea quercifolia Bartram

Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf hydrangea) is a species of hydrangea native to the southeastern United States, from North Carolina west to Tennessee, and south to Florida and Louisiana.

It is a coarse deciduous shrub growing to 2.5 m tall with an open crown.

Hydrangea quercifolia sprouts shoots from underground stolons and often grows in colonies. Young stems are covered in a felt-like light brown bark, and the larger stems have attractive cinnamon-tan-orange bark that shreds and peels in thin flakes.

Leaves are yellowish green on top and downy-white underneath. They have three, five or seven pointed lobes and are 4-12 in (1.2-30.5 cm) long and almost as wide. Plants in shade have larger leaves than those grown in sun. Hydrangea quercifolia leaves turn rich shades of red, bronze and purple in autumn that persist in winter.

Flowers are borne in erect panicles 6-12 in (15.2-30.5 cm) tall and 3-5 in (7.6-12.7 cm) wide at branch tips. Flowers age in colour from creamy white, aging to pink and by autumn and winter are a dry, papery rusty-brown.

Unlike bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla), flower color does not vary with soil pH.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

There are several named cultivars of Hydrangea quercifolia:

• Pee Wee under 3-4 ft (0.9-1.2 m) in height.
• Snow Flake which has 12-15 in (30.5-38.1 cm) clusters of double flowers.
• Snow Queen cold-hardy and with denser flower clusters.

Oakleaf hydrangea and the popular peegee hydrangea (H. paniculata) are the only hydrangeas with cone-shaped flower clusters; all the others have their flowers in ball-shaped or flat-topped clusters.

Distribution

Native to continental North America it grows in mixed hardwood forests, along streams and on forested hillsides, usually on calcareous soils, and often where limestone is at the ground surface. Hydrangea quercifolia is an understory shrub, often in the shade of large oaks, hickories, magnolias, American beech, etc.

Cultivation

Hydrangea quercifolia grows best in a woodland situation on alkaline soils. Preferring partial to almost full shade, with morning sun and afternoon shade is best as optimum. Oakleaf hydrangea will tolerate drought, but may not flower. Hardiness: USDA Zones 5-9. 'Snow Queen' is hardy to Zone 5; other cultivars and species may not be. Propagation is via cutting or division..

Fresh or dry, hydrangea quercifolia is an attractive cut flower.

"The oakleaf hydrangea was first discovered and named by John Bartram in the latter half of the 1700s, while he and his son William were exploring southern Georgia and Florida" [1].

External links

• USDA Plant Profile: Hydrangea quercifolia
• Georgia Wildlife Federation: Hydrangea quercifolia
• Hydrangea Thoughts I - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Hydrangea (Culture, History and Etymology).