I would leave it alone and let it generate more stems on its own. In time, it will get large (although there are now some smaller oakleaf hydrangeas in the market). After it gets larger in the next few years, I would consider pruning to fix any aesthetic issues, to cut dead wood (you can always to do this but usually around May, when dead wood -that should have leafed out- has not leafed out) and to cut branches that grow too much or cross, etc. It produces invisible flower buds in July (in the South) thru August (in the North) and these buds open in Spring. So when you eventually have to prune, prune after it has bloomed but before the end of June to make sure you do not cut next Spring's flower buds.

Hydrangeas need a lot of water but it is critical not to over water an oakleaf hydrangea because their roots are very sensitive to having their roots in water for long periods of time. Of all hydrangeas, this type will catch root rot faster than the other types if the soil does not drain well and the soil is wet all the time. Moist is good. Wet for small amounts of times is fine too. I usually give them 1.5 gallons (5.7 liters) of water in the hot summer months and 1 gallon (3.8 liters) at other times.

You can test the soil with a soil moisture meter or with finger and, if the soil feels dry or almost dry then give it some water. Use plenty of organic mulch to conserve the soil moisture, keep away the grass and so you do not have to water it often.

Oakleaf hydrangea is probably more drought tolerant than the other hydrangeas and does well in hot climates. In Europe, it does not tend to produce as many blooms or as nice large blooms. I have not found a reason as to why; only speculation about the lack of summer heat that it gets in the southeastern states.

I normally do not add fertilizer on the first year because the pots already come with those round fertilizer pellets. In the Spring, I add some composted manure, organic compost or cottonseed meal. You can also use a general purpose slow-release chemical fertilizer.

Enjoy the fall color, Denis!

Thank you Luis for your detailed answer, these are not common here we are more used to the macrophylla types here. I am happy to leave it alone to do its thing and that its placement should be ok.

When you wrote about watering above do you mean to give those quantities daily or weekly?

Thanks once again and the fall colour is developing already and it is beautiful.

Denis

Those quantities would be per each watering.

At first, use the finger method daily -early in the mornings- to determine if you need to water. Insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4 inches (10.2 cm) approx and see how the soil feels. If it is dry or almost dry, water the shrub and make a note on a wall calendar saying that you watered on that day.

After checking daily for 2-3 weeks, review the information on the calendar. Determine about how often you had to water: for example, once every 3/4/5/etc days. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to water the plant (1.5 gallons) on the same frequency (every 3/4/5/days).

But if the weather changes and the temperatures depart from the usual and stay much higher/lower, you can use the finger method for another 2-3 weeks to see if you need to tweak things and water every 5/6/7 days instead.

I normally give my hydrangeas 1 gallon of water per watering in Spring, Fall and Winter. During the summer, I increase that to 1.5 gallons. If the winter is not mild (that is,m it is cold, snowy, icy) then I try to water them only once every two weeks. Larger hydrangeas will need more water than that.

Note: if you notice that the edges of the leaves are browning inwards, the plant needs more water. If you notice that the leaves are drooping/wilting, they should recover on their own by morning if the soil is moist. When I see an extreme wilting episode, I use the finger method and immediately water if the soil is almost dry or dry. If the leaves remain limp 24/7, the plant roots probably have caught root rot. It happened to me once with Alice, a large oakleaf hydrangea.

I too enjoy the look of the oakleaf hydrangea leaves in the fall. They are very nice indeed and I have been trying to add more plants with nice fall foliage.

By the way, I looked up H. quercifolia 'Burgundy' in a book and it said that it was an introduction from a place in the Netherlands but did not say how big or wide it gets. Do you know what the approximate dimensions are? Just wondering. There are quite a few "dwarf" oakleaf hydrangeas now and since I do not have much shady real estate, I have been concentrating on getting "small" hydrangeas.

The label says 1.5 metres tall only, no mention of it being dwarf but various websites give different heights and widths so I don't know, sorry.

Thanks for your help and knowledge, I hope I don't kill it!

Denis

Hi,

I have a two year old oak hydrangea that I started from a single shoot from a plant my daughter has.

It seems to be doing well but has not flowered yet.

The mother plant it came from flowers very nicely in very similar growing conditions.

Any idea when I might see it flower?

Massachusetts Zone 5b.

Thanks,

gle2011