My Oakleafs are growing in a variety of soils around my yard. One of them is next to my house in sandy loam, one is by the driveway in gravelly clay, one is by the front porch in loam amended with copious amounts of compost and one is near my giant pecan tree in thin loam. They don't seem to be picky about the soil they're in.

Be ready to water it well on the frst yew years. Mine required frequent waterings by hand (extra waterings that is, when the drip irrigation was not enough). Usually during the worst of the summer.

They (all oakleafs) hate being in standing water so watch out for clay soils in low areas.

Mine is in a large container in full, all day sun and on a concrete patio. It doesn't get any more intense as far as sun and heat are concerned in the PNW :-)) And mine does great. Was full of flowers all season and the foliage is coloring up beautifully now.

I would be more concerned about its heat tolerance than I would of winter......and if Luis can grow them in Texas and mine tolerates the brutal exposure I give it, I think you're fine. And they do need some direct sunlight to develop good fall color.

Thank you, this is helpful information. I'm confident now that the heat won't be an issue, but how about the amount of shade my oakleaf hydrangea will be in? Based on what seamommy said it sounds like it might be fine, but do you think that only four hours of direct sunlight per day will be enough for flowering and fall color? I wasn't sure if anyone else grew oakleaf hydrangeas in only a few hours of direct sunlight per day who could testify as to how it affects their flowering and fall color?

Four hours should be fine. A part-shade plant should have less than 6 hours of sun if you assume 6 hrs = full sun exposure.

I have my RS in zero direct sunlight, only in bright shade and it does just fine.

Thanks! I'm glad 4 hours will be enough sunlight.

I was reading on another old question from this site that some people in zone 5 were having issues during some winters where all the flower buds were killed, so they had no flowers the next spring. How cold would it have to get to kill the flower buds?

Also, one question about Pinky Winky Hdrangea: do they turn nice shades of red or burgundy in the fall or more redish-brown?

I don't know how much growing conditions effect fall color for H. paniculatas, but I grow in acid sandy loam and my Pinky Winky is in all day sun. It has flowers that turn a deep pink starting in late August and lasting until late October or hard freeze, but at least here it doesn't develop much foliage color, staying green with a reddish cast and an occasional yellow leaf.
On August 20 this year it was beginning to develop color.
{{gwi:279128}}From Hydrangeas

Here it is Nov. 1 this fall, right before season's end

luis_pr you mentioned you grow Ruby Slippers Oak Leaf Hydrangea in bright shade with no actual sunlight and it does fine. I'm planning to plant one in a similar light situation. Some dappled light, otherwise bright shade. Will this work? Is your RS doing well?

Yeah but my RS has not much bloomage this year. We had a mild 2016-2017 winter in which the hydrangeas broke dormancy and the temps then crashed well below freezing so, the majority of the hydrangeas in unprotected locations have no bloomage. All of the oakleafs have blooms though. RS is in the northern front of the house and managed to squeeze two small blooms. The oakleafs south of the house bloomed more profusely since they are protected by the house from cold winds. Many of the macs got hit. Mountain hydrangeas did not show blooming problems. Hydrangeas are understory shrubs so dappled sun would be fine. Good luck with yours and feel free to transplant it if you any type of issues (you will not be the first or last person to do that!) ;o)

We had a very cold La Nina winter on the island. All my hydrangeas came through fine except an old variety planted in a pot. That one died back to root level. It's grown some new leaves but is very puny. As far as affecting blooms, I've never had winter problems do that. The regular oak leaf hydrangeas are doing great. Lots of buds. But they are planted in more light, some afternoon sun. The newly planted RS are tucked into an area that is shaded by a Stewartia tree which I've limbed up.

Here is a Ruby Slippers yesterday. I don't ever remember seeing it go "ruby" though. It gets full sun from around 9 until early afternoon (1 or 2).

May 17

May 2

This is as ruby as I've seen it for the 4 years I've had it. This was 2015.

Is it more the fall foliage than anything?

Mine does something similar too.

Mine goes ruby rather quickly, or at least pink / dark pink. These are from 2016 (June/July)

Before (right):

After:

I sure hope they're right when saying that Ruby Slippers can take shade. All the pictures above are in some degree of sun. My new planting area won't have that. But the size is perfect for the constrained spot mine are planted in.

Oakleafs love shade more than any other H, I've found. It makes their leaves grow bigger as well, which is an attractive feature.

Thanks for that assurance springwood_gardens!

You will get the best flower development and fall color if the oakleaf is planted in a fair amount of sun. In my climate, which is relatively far north and with not very intense summer sun, these - with the exception of Little Honey - grow perfectly well in full sun.

Gardengal and samnsarah I have seen RS growing here in full sun too. They had in ground watering system for irrigation. Mine are planted in bright shade. So we'll see how that goes! They are in a very sheltered spot right next to a three foot cinder block retaining wall. It's the light that will tell the tale. Our summer sun here is intense, whether that makes a difference or not. Winter 'sun' is mostly missing in action. However the site is shaded by a deciduous tree which is bare of leaves in winter.

Received a RS a few years back Very very small as of the Fall It has grown to about 20” gets about 3hrs of Sun and then bright shade,plenty of leaf action and some color in the Fall....when do you think I might get some blooms...don’t Winter protect

"Our summer sun here is intense,"

You may think it is intense but being even a bit further north than I am, I can assure you it is not!! The further one is away from the equator, the less intense the sun's rays are in summer. Has to to do with the degree above the horizon.....the further north one gets, the more shallow the angle.

btw, I have not found oakleaf hydrangeas to be shade lovers at all. In their natural setting they are often found in full sun and if one were to rate hydrangea species by sun tolerance, oakleaf and panicle hydrangeas would be right up at the top of the list!! Both arborescens and macrophyllas would prefer much more shade than these two.

hyed, like the macs, oakleafs bloom on old wood and so are prone to some bud damage in cold winter climates. They are not as sensitive to this as are the macs but it still might be worth considering some winter protection for these. My Ruby Slippers bloomed its first year in the ground so not an age thing......but it could very well be a cold thing if yours is reluctant to bloom.

Wow, it really must have been small to begin with if it is now 20" tall only. I bought mine locally in a 3g pot when it was already blooming. Oakleafs tend to be hardy here for me, meaning they bloom reliably so I do not winter protect even if temps go to the 60s and then crash to the teens or twenties. I do put some mulch and water before hard freezes. Do not prune it on or after July. The last three years, unusual ones mind you, they have leafed out in February for me and kept foliage thru all the winter. Just to be different, they lost all foliage this winter a few days ago; a different year/winter. Ha. Your RS being so small, I would try winter protection too... just because I have not grown them small and am not sure how long until tiny ones start to bloom.

RS did not bloom for me two years after I planted it but quit doing that since... I have mine growing under a tree so it gets dappled sun. Pee Wee and Snow Queen have not had blooming issues ever since I planted them.

Thanks Gardengal & Luis...was given to me by a neighbor who order a couple hers. also is no bigger & no blooms ...I should know better in this area you have to WP ....it’s still small enough to bury this Fall ....but again i’m through with WP large plants ...funny over the yrs I would WP and have hundreds of blooms.. getting too Old .. few pictures with WP ....without this past yr I probably got a total 30 blooms from the same plants

Some shrubs take a few years to become established so that may just be the problem. I typically give shrubs about 3 years.

I bought my RS Oakleafs as tiny plants in 4" pots. The two in the photo above are about two years old. Mine get morning sun and afternoon shade (approx. 4 hours of sun) as they are on the east side of my house. I mulch them with pine needles, but I really don't fertilize them as mine grow just fine without it. I don't think they need full sun as is proven with mine. Three hours should be enough. According to the U.S. National Aboretum, which developed it, the RS Oakleaf Hydrangea gets to be 3.5' tall and 5' wide in 7 years and only needs partial sun although it can tolerate more sun than that.

Hyed, I'm not sure when you planted your RS, but if it started out as small as you say then it sounds like its growth rate is about right. As far as blooms go, well I don't know what to tell you. You might try some fertilizer, but beyond that I'm not sure. Perhaps Gardengal is right and your RS needs more sun in the part of the country that you live. Are you sure it's an RS?

WOW samnsarah I think I might need more sun, this will be the third yr and still very small ...have never started a plant in 4” pot all my Hys were 3gal ..i’ll just have to be patience ...Luis thanks again

Well, I guess my plants weren't tiny. They had a very well developed root system and a lot of top growth, like 6 to 7" tall when I planted them, but still, they were in 4" pots.

Hyed, your hostas are beautiful. Here in South Central Kansas they scorch by the middle of July. Mine are in full shade, and they still scorch. I've just about given up on hostas. Many of my fellow gardeners around here already have. I guess I'm just a bit more stubborn than they are.

You may want to see if the hostas are in a windy summer location. I have some bright shade locations where some shade plants do not do well due to wind in the summer, which dries them out easily when temps get to the upper 90s and 100s. A slow wind with those high temps is -sometimes- all you need to start getting the leaves to brown out. :o(

Oh yes. This is SC Kansas. It is known for its hot, dry, windy summers. And since there are no hills to break up the wind, the only place to keep hostas from getting scorched is in doors in a pot.

Can I plant in now a RS? I live in zone 8a, Texas. I just saw one at HomeDepot and I left it because I wasn’t sure.

Yes. Fall is the best time to plant shrubs.

Yes, Fall is a great time for planting over here but do not fertilize it until Spring (1/2 to 1 cup of organic compost, composted manure, cottonseed meal). Maintain 2-4" of organic mulch (no rocks) year around and keep the soil as evenly moist as you can, specially in winter and summer. Do not let the soil become soggy for long periods of time as oakleaf hydrangeas can very quickly develop root rot. RS should develop Fall foliage in November-ish and go dormant by the end of November or first half of December. Once dormant, reduce watering based on local rains. If the soil feels dry to a depth of 4", be ready to water, including during dry winters. Water the soil only, never the leaves, and use enough water to get the soil moist down to a depth of 8". They should already have invisible flower buds for Spring 2021 at the ends of the stems so careful if you cut any stems now (try not to prune until a few weeks after blooming in Spring but feel free to deadhead at any time). Place it where it can attain its estimated size at maturity, where it gets morning sun only (until 10-11am) or dappled sun. Amend the soil regularly in Spring (to acidify) if your soil is alkaline.