Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice'
Alice Oakleaf Hydrangea

Family:

Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea Family) 35

Genus:

Hydrangea (Hydrangea) 26

Plant Type:

Shrub 468

Growth Forms:

Upright 571

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); Multi-Colored (Reddish, orange-brown, to purplish fall foliage)

Fruit Notes:

Brown (Capsule; not ornamentally important)

Ultimate Height:

5-8 feet

Ultimate Spread:

5-8 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. Large (4-12" long) upright flower clusters (panicles) of 1-1.5" dia. sterile showy flowers (sepals) outside tiny fertile non-showy flowers emerge in early summer. 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

Alice is an upright, stoloniferous shrub with a broad, rounded habit which grows 5-8' tall and similar in witdth. In optimum growing conditions, Alice can reach heights of 12' tall. The flowers of this shrub are the highlight of any landscape with creamy-white, feathery panicles that change to a rosy-pink color with age. Large, coarse green leaves change to a burgundy-red in the fall. Exfoliating stems add texture and color during the winter months. 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.