KTRS 550 Plant of the Week October 24 2009 Hydrangea quercifolia

Hydrangea quercifolia

Hydrangea quercifolia, an American native, is best known by her common name Oakleaf hydrangea.

She has a strong upright well rounded figure that makes onlookers smile. She is blessed with an abundance of bold, well textured leaves that are notable on their own, but they become more of a backdrop midseason as an abundance of rather oversize mounds of flowers develop mid-season.

Her girlish bouquets of blossoms are the softest shades of white when first exposed to the elements but as the many appreciating glances follow, she flushes to an embarrassed pink. Passing from that first awkward moment through weeks and weeks of admiring stares, she eventually grow accustom to the attention and her flowers fade to a charmingly casual shade of dusky rose.

Once fall arrives, she could easily begin a modeling career. Her distinctive oakish shaped forest green foliage takes on a closet full of stylish autumn colors. Price tag worthy, these are designer shades of metallic bronze, crimson lip reds and velveteen purples.

Age must be of no consequence when good genes are present. (Apparently the clock can be kind!) Nature insists that Oakleaf Hydrangea releases her leaves back to the soil. As her reward, the Wind begins a therapeutic massage and the exfoliating rituals begin. At some point the thin layer of outer bark begins to shed, revealing a soft mink brown inner skin that looks warm on the coldest of days and beautiful all winter long.

When given a choice, she likes to keep her toes dipping into rich moist but not saturated soil. She enjoys just relaxing in full sun to part shade. The reward for this minimal is baskets full of blooms every single year-regardless!

Care Factor Rating: 2 This hydrangea must be watered regularly till established and occasionally during excessively long drought periods. She is a reliable bloomer as she blooms on new wood. The flowers are most attractive through summer and into fall. The flowers then fade to a silvery beige color for the winter landscape. Leave the flowers intact till leaf buds break usually mid-March / early spring, for a more manicured but still casual look.

She does not require pruning when given adequate space. The naturally habit is broad and mounding. There are many cultivars available that have been bred for different habits, flower type and size allowance. Removal of the occasional damaged or dead branch can be done any time of the year.

A blanket of mulch or a burlap wrap after leaf drop is usually sufficient while she is getting established and whenever winters are extremely harsh. When she is very stressed such as container living or suffering from root disturbance such as ball and burlap growing, she may develop temporary leaf spotting / blight. This resolves with the next set of leaves ,once she has wiggle room and the growing situation has stabilized.

Perfectly well behaved in a family gathering or in a plant community setting such as rain gardens, stream beds, informal hedge, woodland settings and transition zones, she can be grouped with other plant families or with or more of the same!