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Hydrangea quercifolia

 
Hydrangea quercifolia
'Alice' in spring
oak-leaf hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
'Alice' in summer

Common name oak-leaf hydrangea
Family hydrangeaceae
Life cycle shrub
Flowers white
Light sun-part shade
Cultural notes ordinary garden soil

We grow two cultivars of oakleaf hydrangea. The first one, 'Alice', we've had for a good many years, but it has yet to grow into the sizable shrub (6-10') it is destined to be. On two occasions, it barely survived the winter, returning from the roots rather than the woody topgrowth. But finally, at least five years after its arrival, it bloomed quite nicely. Even though the shrub has yet to attain its mature stature, its bold leaves add a lot to our garden. The second one, 'Sike's Dwarf', is a relative newcomer, but bloomed the year after it arrived in our garden. It is only supposed to get 3.5' tall. Both sport nice autumn coloration.

oak-leaf hydrangea
'Sike's Dwarf' in late October
Hydrangea quercifolia
'Alice' in late October
oak-leaf hydrangea
Flowers fade to pink in early July
Hydrangea quercifolia
In early spring the shrubs go through an ugly duckling phase, the stems messily exfoliating and some of the previous season's brown remains still clinging on as new buds are swelling. Not to worry, they will look great in no time.
oak-leaf hydrangea
After twelve years in our garden, 'Sike's Dwarf' is hardly little, but it is still short in stature
Hydrangea quercifolia
Alice's luscious brown aftermath

We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston.

One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog

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