Matthew Stevens: Hydrangeas' colorful flower heads are impossible to ignore

Hydrangeas are one of the most popular southern landscape plants, and with good reason. Their large colorful flower heads are impossible to ignore, and the subtle changes in color at different stages in their long bloom period are a trait that very few plants offer.

When most gardeners think of hydrangeas, it is the mophead type, Hydrangea macrophylla, that generally comes to mind. While the mopheads are excellent plants, my favorite has always been the oakleaf hydrangea, a southeastern U.S. native.

Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) are notable for many characteristics, but let’s start with the one that gives them their name. Rather than a pointed, oval-shaped leaf like the mophead, oakleaf hydrangea has a large leaf with many rounded lobes, making it resemble that of a white oak.

We don’t often talk about leaf shape as being a focal point in landscaping, but plants like oakleaf hydrangea and Japanese fatsia make landscapes interesting even when not in bloom, simply by looking different than the plants nearby.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a hydrangea without a large, impactful bloom. Oakleaf hydrangeas generally start blooming in late May or early June. Flowers are white and the individual blossoms form large panicles that are more conical than rounded. Flower clusters can reach as long as 12 inches and are 3 to 4 inches wide. Petals will gradually fade to a rosy pink color during the summer before finishing almost tan in fall. Their flowers may have a light fragrance, though it is not overwhelming. Many gardeners like to use the flowers for drying, as they hold up well after cutting.

To me though, what really sets oakleaf hydrangea apart from its relatives, is the amazing fall color it generates in October and November. As temperatures cool and day lengths shorten, the leaves change from their usual dark green to an almost purplish-red. In the early stages of this change, the veins on each leaf will often stay green for several days after the rest of the leaf has turned color, which makes a unique sort of variegated look one doesn’t typically see among plants in fall. In many landscapes, oakleaf hydrangea is the most eye-catching plant during late fall.

Oakleaf hydrangea is a native plant that performs fantastically in our area. Unlike Hydrangea macrophylla, which is typically one of the first plants to droop during periods of dry weather, oakleaf hydrangeas are tolerant of wide range of climate and soil conditions and free of any major insect and disease pests.

Nurserymen and plant propagators will report that it can be a bit difficult to get started, but once it makes it into the ground at your home it will almost certainly be problem-free.

Most will grow to about 6-8 feet high and wide, though there are cultivars that are smaller. “Pee Wee” is a popular dwarf cultivar, and “Little Honey” is a semi-dwarf type with golden yellow foliage during the summer.