FNPS Plant Database

Hydrangea quercifolia

oak-leaf hydrangea
  • Photo by: Susan Trammel, Paynes Prairie FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by:
  • Photo by: Ginny Stibolt, Ixia Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

oak-leaf hydrangea

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Hydrangea quercifolia

Family:

Hydrangeaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

2.5 to 12 ft tall by 2.0 to 5.0 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous, blooms in late spring-summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage, Interesting Bark

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen shrub in understory settings.  Also suited to mass plantings. May be short-lived and need more TLC when planted south of its native range.

Considerations:

Prefers partial shade. If planted south of its natural range, it is best to keep it out of full sun.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Softwood cuttings can be rooted by dusting the cutting with root hormone, then removing most of the fully developed leaves, cutting the remaining developed leaves in half. Place the cutting in a potting mix and tent the entire moistened assembly with a thin plastic (produce), bag. Keep the bag in place and moist until rooting occurs. Air layering is another effective way to propagate. It will also colonize using underground stolons.

Light:

Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Clay, Loam

Soil pH:

Acidic to circum-neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators

Attracts native bees including bumblebees,  syrphid flies, and honeybees.





Pollinators attracted to the small fertile flowers (the large flowers are sterile) (Coleen Miko).

Native Habitats:

Dry-moist sites. Upland hardwood forests and understory.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

The bark of oakleaf hydrangea exfoliates and is very beautiful. The leaves turn a variety of vivid colors prior to dropping in winter.



Based on the description on the herbarium sheet, the Florida Atlas documentation for Aachua County appears to be a plants or plants persisting at an old home site. 

Citations:

https://colleenmiko.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/hydrangea-quercifolia-oakleaf-hydrangea-plant-fix/.



Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



University of Tennessee Extension Service.  Desired Ph Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants.    https://extension.tennessee.edu/mtnpi/Documents/handouts/Fertility/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf   accessed 2021.



Watkins, John and Thomas Sheehan.  1975.  Florida Landscapt Plants, Native and Exotic. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville. (light, soil, salt)



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu /).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.



 

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