Hydrangea quercifolia 'Flemygea' [sold as Snow Queen™]
Snow Queen Oakleaf Hydrangea

Family:

Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea Family) 35

Genus:

Hydrangea (Hydrangea) 26

Plant Type:

Shrub 468

Growth Forms:

Stoloniferous 4

Hardiness:

USDA Zone 5 251

Deciduous / Evergreen:

Deciduous 836

Flower Notes:

White;pink (Large white panicles in late spring and early summer; pinkish and then brown panicles in the fall, persisting into the winter)

Foliage Notes:

Green (New growth is gray-green in the spring, becoming a deep green in the summer); Red (Deep bronze-red fall foliage)

Fruit Notes:

Brown (Capsule; not ornamentally important)

Ultimate Height:

4-6 feet

Ultimate Spread:

6-8 feet

Light Requirements:

Soil Notes:

Requires moist, well-drained soil; a layer of mulch is advisable to keep the roots cool

Range:

Cultivated origin

Diagnostic Characteristics:

Large (3-8" long) leaves are opposite, simple, and deeply lobed, resembling large red oak leaves with a white tomentose below. Large leaf scars are triangular. Flower inflorescences are 6-8" long with numerous sterile florets. In the fall, the flowers turn a purplish pink and then brown, persisting into the winter. Cinnamon brown bark on older stems peels and exfoliates.

Special Characteristics:

Additional Information

A unique plant with attractive flower panicles and large, coarse handsome foliage. 'Flemygea' is known for its larger and more numerous showy, sterile flowers in each panicle. This cultivar also has stronger flower stems that can withstand a heavy rain better than many Hydrangea quercifolia variants. Tops (including flower buds formed in fall) can die back when winter temperatures go much below – 20 degrees F (often in Zone 6b and colder). Flowers form on previous season's growth. Thus, no flowers will appear in the years when the tops are killed. May be best used for foliage effect in cold areas. Not very drought tolerant. Spreads by stolons forming colonies. Unusually coarse texture makes this plant difficult to use in some combinations. Winter killed branches need removal.