General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 5a -28.9 °C (-20 °F) to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 9b
Plant Height: 3 - 6 feet
Plant Spread: 3 - 6 feet
Leaves: Good fall color
Unusual foliage color
Deciduous
Fruit: Edible to birds
Dehiscent
Flowers: Showy
Blooms on old wood
Flower Color: White
Other: Maturing to white and then purplish.
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Spring
Late spring or early summer
Summer
Late summer or early fall
Underground structures: Taproot
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Provides winter interest
Cut Flower
Dried Flower
Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Toxicity: Other: All parts of the plant are poisonous and considered toxic if large quantities are ingested.
Propagation: Seeds: Suitable for wintersowing
Sow in situ
Start indoors
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Division

Image
Common names
  • Oakleaf Hydrangea
  • Oak-leaf Hydrangea
  • Hydrangea

Photo Gallery
Location: Sugar Mill Gardens, Port Orange, Florida
Date: 2013-05-13
Location: North Central TX Zone 8a
Date: 2017-11-20
Location: Cary, North Carolina private garden
Date: 2023-06-10
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Date: 2021-05-20
The flowers on my oakleaf hydrangea are just starting to open up.
Location: Sacramento, CA
Date: 2019-04-11
Location: Willow Valley Communities, Lakes Campus, Willow Street, Pennsylvania
Date: 2019-11-05
Location: IDEA Garden, Tyler, Texas
Date: 2014-05-03
Location: North Central TX Zone 8a
Date: 2017-12-23
The first plant I added when I bought my house
Location: My garden
Date: 2017-07-09
Location: My garden
Date: 2017-04-29

Date: 2018-04-12
Location: Sugar Mill Gardens, Port Orange, Florida   
Date: 2013-05-13
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-10-26
foundation plants with a young Flowering Dogwood
Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-06-22
a mass in bloom
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: 2018-06-09
Location: Zone 8a
Date: 2016-04-13
Facing north; partial shade.
Location: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Date: 2013-06-27
a full-grown shrub
Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2019-01-13
a mass in winter
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Date: May
Photo by Eric in SF.
Location: Fairfax, VA
*I have a nother photo of a cultivar of this. They are not the sa

Date: 2018-08-01
Location: Wilmington, Delaware USA
Date: 2015-06-08
Pleasantly fragrant flowers
Location: Virginia
Date: 2020-04-24
Location: My garden
Date: 2017-04-29

Date: 2011-05-10
A tiger swallowtail nectars on the blooms
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2022-05-04
Location: Lilburn, GA
Date: 2019-12-16
Winter foliage in Georgia
Location: Sugar Mill Gardens, Port Orange, Florida 
Date: 2013-05-13

Date: 2018-06-25
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Date: 2016-07-17
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Lilburn, GA
Date: 2018-06-10
A-buzz
Location: my garden zone 7b NC
Date: 2013-06-12

Date: 2009-11-20
Stems of plant putting on fall colors

Date: 2007-05-19
Bloom just beginning to fade to pink
Location: Lilburn, GA
Date: 2019-12-16
Rememberance of days gone by
Location: Sugar Mill Gardens, Port Orange, Florida  
Date: 2013-05-13
Location: Hamilton Square Perennial Garden, Historic City Cemetery, Sacramento CA.
Date: 2015-07-01
All oakleaf hydrangeas are white, but the blooms often turn subtl
Location: Quad Cities Botanical Gardens - Rock Island, Il.
Date: 2008-07-04
Location: Hamilton Square Garden, Historic City Cemetery, Sacramento CA.
Date: 2016-04-25
Zone 9b.
Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2015-07-02
Location: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Date: 2013-06-27
a group in bloom
Location: Southern Pines, NC
Date: May 23, 2022
Oakleaf hydrangea #43 nn;  LHB page 474, 90-4-1, "Greek for water
Location: Botanical Gardens of the State of Georgia...Athens, Ga
Date: 2019-06-02
Oakleaf Hydrangea - Hydrangea quercifolia 011
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Photo by DianeSeeds
Location: My garden
Date: 2017-07-09
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Date: 2022-07-07
Location: Bea’s garden
Date: 2023-06-15
Location: Fairfax VA
Date: 2022-06-25

Date: 2011-05-15
Older plant cascading over my fence from neighbor's yard
Location: Chicago
Date: 2020-06-22
Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2020-06-14
mature plant in a big pot
Location: Sugar Mill Gardens, Port Orange, Florida
Date: 2013-05-13
Location: KALAMA WA
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: DISCLAIMER: This is an old photo from an old phone. I don't know why, but the photos look "deep fried". sorry about that.
Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2015-07-25
Location: Southern Pines, NC
Date: May 23, 2022
Oakleaf hydrangea #43 nn;  LHB page 474, 90-4-1, "Greek for water
Location: Botanical Gardens of the State of Georgia...Athens, Ga
Date: 2019-06-02
Oakleaf Hydrangea - Hydrangea quercifolia 012
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Date: 2022-07-07
Fertile florets.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Date: 2022-07-07
Location: N. Fl.
Date: 2017-07-17

Date: 2008-03-11
New leaves early spring among the fall color

Date: 2006-11-29
Beautiful fall colors of the leaves

Date: 2007-06-10
Older spent blooms with color still remain on plants for a long t

Date: 2005-04-15
young plant
Location: My Property Sunset Zone 23 Fallbrook California
Date: 2013-06-03
Photo by sedumzz
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Jan 18, 2019 7:42 PM concerning plant:
    By the time that some botanists discovered this species for western botany, its native range has been almost all of Alabama & Mississippi, northwest Florida, eastern Georgia, some of Louisiana, and southern Tennessee. It is sold and grows well in the Chicago, IL area in Zone 5a, though a powerful cold winter can do some harm, but this shows it must have had a larger native range in the past. It has a coarse texture, but it is a lovely shrub for gardens and landscapes with good foliage, good fall color, pretty and large flower clusters, a basically neat habit, and bronzy papery bark. I've seen this species about 4 to 8 feet high. It does ground sucker some, but it is easy to prune. It is somewhat commonly planted in the South, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, and the Northeast USA; used more often by landscape designers than the general public; the former who know it better. The are several cultivars that are available with different sizes of the shrub or leaves and variations in flower structure and size. The mother species and most cultivars have both fertile and infertile flowers, so it does produce pollen and nectar for pollinators. Best to prune after flowering in August for best blooming the following year. Its root system is fibrous with shallow lateral roots and it is stoloniferous with lateral shoots, and it is easy to transplant.
  • Posted by robertduval14 (Milford, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Apr 20, 2013 8:51 AM concerning plant:
    Alabama's state wildflower.
  • Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on May 11, 2012 5:33 PM concerning plant:
    Honey bees get nectar and pollen from this plant.
Plant Events from our members
aspenhill On May 31, 2014 Obtained plant
DG Jan (Jan23) - qty 1
carlissa904 On May 26, 2019 Transplanted
Made a raised bed and planted this in the ground.
carlissa904 On May 24, 2019 Obtained plant
Got this plant from the plant swap at the Gainesville Garden Club.
WebTucker On May 23, 2022 Bloomed
JandD1999 On May 24, 2022 Obtained plant
A gift from my husband.
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