Oakleaf hydrangea earns its name from big, deeply lobed leaves shaped like an oak’s; quercifolia means oak-leaved.

From mid-spring to early summer it raises tall, cone-shaped clusters of white flowers that slowly blush pink and then age to papery brown. On older stems, the reddish-brown bark peels away in strips, giving the shrub texture even in winter. [1]

This upright, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub is native to the southeastern United States, where it grows in moist woods and along stream banks. It typically reaches four to eight feet tall. Butterflies and other insects visit the flowers and songbirds eat the seeds. Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama, sits on the former estate of nurseryman Eddie Aldridge, who with his father found and patented ‘Snowflake’, a double-flowered form of this shrub. [1, 2]

Plant it in rich, well-drained soil that stays evenly moist, in full sun to part shade; it needs some sun to bloom well. Summer mulch helps hold moisture. It flowers on last year’s wood, so prune, if at all, right after flowering, and trim winter-damaged stems in early spring. Use it as a specimen, an informal hedge or in a mass planting. [1]