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 [1a] it raises tall, cone-shaped clusters of white flowers [1b] that slowly blush pink and then age to papery brown. [1c] On older stems, the reddish-brown bark peels away in strips, giving the shrub texture even in winter. [1d]
This upright, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub is native to the southeastern United States, where it grows in moist woods and along stream banks. [1e] It typically reaches four to eight feet tall. [1f] Butterflies and other insects visit the flowers and songbirds eat the seeds. [1g] Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama, sits on the former estate of nurseryman Eddie Aldridge, [2a] who with his father found and patented ‘Snowflake’, a double-flowered form of this shrub. [2b]
Plant it in rich, well-drained soil that stays evenly moist, [1h] in full sun to part shade; it needs some sun to bloom well. [1a] Summer mulch helps hold moisture. [1i] It flowers on last year’s wood, so prune, if at all, right after flowering, [1j] and trim winter-damaged stems in early spring. [1k] Use it as a specimen, an informal hedge or in a mass planting. [1l]
