Hydrangeas - Part Three
There are many species of Hydrangea for our shady gardens. Hydrangea quercifolia is one that I have and love; H. paniculata is one that I want. If you have access to hydrangeas - yours or someone else's - it's easy to propagate most of them from cuttings...I'll tell you how to do this.
Hydrangea quercifolia (oak leaf hydrangea)
Of all the hydrangeas, I love the oak leaf hydrangeas best. They have so much to offer - from the fuzzy, silver new leaves in early spring to form, flowers and fall leaf color. I have two and mean to acquire the other cultivars that are now available, at first opportunity.
This species gets its common name from the shape of the lovely leaves which vary, as you can see, but are often reminiscent of those of oak trees (Quercus).
The leaves are large, reaching up to eight inches (15.23 cm) long by nearly as wide at the base. Summer color is a deep, rich green on mature leaves, who keep a hint of their spring silver on the underside. New leaves, forming in summer, provide a silver contrast.
Native to Georgia, Florida and Mississippi, the oakleaf hydrangea was introduced into cultivation in 1803. While they will grow and flower in protected places in USDA zone 5, they are really best in warmer climates (to USDA zone 9). where flowering is reliable. They are worth growing in areas where winter cold or late frosts kill the overwintering flower buds, simply for the foliage. They prefer good, moist soil on the acid side, but will grow in dryer conditions, once established. Very alkaline soil may induce chlorosis in the foliage.
These are suckering shrubs, slowly reaching from four to six feet (possibly eight) in height (1.21 - 1.82 / 2.43 m) by three to five feet (0.91 - 1.52 m) in spread - actually more as they start to sucker.
Old stems have exfoliating cinnamon colored bark, which, with their gaunt, arching habit provides winter interest. When in leaf, the form is mounding, with branches cascading to the ground.
All forms have panicle form flowers. The species can produce some that are almost round and others that are definitely cones, ranging from four to twelve inches (10.15 - 30.47 cm) in length.
