First, the color change does not always happen exactly the same time/way every year. Even with trees. It is a function of too many factors... not getting as much sun, weather (cloudy, temps, etc), soil minerals. I do not even think they sync and do it at the same "time" as other shrubs/trees. It may even be late doing that this year; soo warm. Etc. Just keep your fingers crossed. I am too.

For what it is worth, my oakleaf leaves have not started changing colors either down here. I would have expected your leaves to be "ahead" of mine but they are not by much.

You have a slight color change on a few places but my leaves are just plain green everywhere. I even drove the other day to a park where they have some Alice hydrangeas curious to see how their leaves were.

I can see a slight color changes in the bottom right of your 2nd pic and the top leaves of your 1st pic. I hope it is the start of the color change! Here is knocking on wood for both of us!

By the way, tree foliage has been looking very good! How about you? Luis

Weather conditions across much of the eastern half of the country this fall resulted in some very poor fall coloring this season. It remained warm - even hot - well into late October before some sharp freezes. In many cases, leaves just died before turning any color at all. It is a topic of some discussion on the Trees forum but shrubs are just as likely to be affected as well. As Luis noted, fall color is due to some pretty complex set of conditions that are primarily weather related, so that will have a big impact on when and to what degree plants will color up.

You can see some of the cold damage on the leaves and it is unlikely those remaining......a common characteristic of oakleafs to hold on to foliage through much of the winter.......will develop much more coloring than they show now.

stir..you're not alone..I have 1 oakleaf - Alice..planted fall 2016..similar size to yours..at least yours bloomed..I had no blooms and no fall color..was pretty last fall but green this year..my Japanese maples were pretty..

Ooooooooooh, I love fall foliage. I just wish the fall leaes would somehow last longer... like forever??? ;o) Hee hee hee.

Are those pictures the same colors you see when looking at them?

Dwarf Oak leaf Hydrangea growing on deck. Shots taken two days ago in the PNW.

Sorry, I don't remember the name but can post if anyone is interested.

Colors are starting to peak here now on hydrangeas, trees, shrubs, etc too.

the color on the oakleaf looks pathetic compared to the dogwood and viburnum..

My leaves looked like the ones in your picture about 1 to 2 weeks ago. Then they got a kick and are now all are turning from green to several colors.

I finally got out yesterday and most of my oakleaf Hydrangeas had some pretty good color.

Alice had dark purplish leaves.

Snow Queen is okay

Ellen Huff is probably my favorite oakleaf but not the prettiest fall colors

Snowflake has been a very slow grower but the fall color is nice

Little Honey is probably the best for fall/winter color

Kousa dogwood had some great looking color

Kerria reminds me of Forsythia in spring.

Sourwood suckers after we had our 70 foot tree taken down

My Snowflake is also a slow grower but, due to my location and its sun exposure, is all green still. Well, except for one weird yellowish looking leaf. ;o) My Ruby Slippers looks like your Snowflake though or like your Little Honey. Pee Wee's leaves look dark green (?, go figure.. ha!) ;o)) Crape Myrtles were a nice orangey yellowish colors. VS and Little QF have a nice medium yellow color.

Everything else has changed color and dropped its leaves already but my Little Honey looks exactly the same today as it did in midsummer!! No wilting, no drying (not gonna happen here in winter!!) and no sign of any color change. But it IS in quite a bit more shade than sun.

Interesting, isn't? The leaves on my Snowflake get dappled sun at noonish and less so at other times. The green in the leaves actually looks normal, maybe lighter, but gorgeous! Ten feet away, Pee Wee leaves in more share look a dark green, like it is preparing to change colors to something else.

has improved a little in the last few days..quite a few different colors..might be pretty but the leaves are damaged..anyone know what causes this?..

It may be part of the process where the leaves fall. For example, they start the change of colors, the shrub cuts off the supply of water to the leaves, which dries out and then the winds starts making holes in the leaves as the leaves shake/move due to the winds.

luis..that's reasonable..and it's probably easier to get more holes in a big leaf than a smaller one..they fold over crack and split..sticks can puncture them..don't you think?

Yup

Luis, Oh how I love to read your posts on these hydrangea problems/questions!!

Now, I have a few of the Snowflakes (my favorite of the oakleafs). One definitely

has to be moved....too much sun. Last season, however, the two that got more sun

had the larger panicles (lots of them). I know that it is too hot for that spot.

Thinking of moving it in March.....your thoughts...please.

I was out on a consultation today and was admiring the handsome winter foliage of my client's oakleaf hydrangea. And then remembered this thread and my comment about my Little Honey in early December, looking pretty nearly the same as she did in July!! And here she is 6 weeks later (just took this photo moments ago).......barely unchanged:

I am at a loss to explain this........I do live in a pretty sheltered and protected location and we have not had much in the way of cold temps. But that was much the same last year and I certainly do not remember this shrub retaining such decent looking foliage into January!!

Maybe I now have an evergreen oakleaf! LOL!

my oakleaf leaves have never dropped..they're dark and shriveled and still attached..this is just my second winter..it seems like it was bare last winter but I'm not sure (too many plants)..if my leaves never dropped off it's not shocking to me that in the PNW that the leaves (without fall color) are still going strong..

Oakleaf hdrangeas are well known for having marcescent foliage. But it will typically change color, wither and dry a bit and some leaves do indeed fall off. But none of this has happened with my plant......it has not dropped a single leaf; there has been little to no change of color (a couple of browned edges is all), no withering or drying - the leaves are as succulent and pliable as they are in spring or summer.

I have grown this plant for about 15 years and this is the very first time it has acted like there has been NO change in the seasons. Weird :-))

I should also add that all other oakleafs I see in my area are acting perfectly normal for this time of year, looking very much like previous photos upthread. Just not like my photo of Little Honey :-))

I know of a couple of oakleaves in my neighborhood..I should try to remember to take a look and see if they look like mine..they probably do..I agree..your shrub doesn't look like a fall shrub..if you told me that pic was taken in August I would believe you..this is what it looks like here today..we made cardboard "peanut huts" for the birds and squirrels..

Was a high of almost 60F here today :-) And semi sunny. But it is cooling down later this week to a more normal daytime temp of high 40's to low 50's. And rainy.

I am not completely convinced I ever experienced a good frost yet this season. I still have a cuphea in bloom (much to the hummingbirds' delight)!! And there are some small and uninspired flower buds on my fancy leaf geraniums, which are typically toast by this time of year. Not sure what that's all about either!!

wacky weather everywhere has plants confused!..our weekend forecast has high 50's!..and our overnight low tonight is like -3..a 60 degree difference in 4 to 5 days time..

Pearl, if it needs less sun then yeah, do consider moving it before it leafs out.

Ah, 60 sounds toasty right now. Contrary to the past 2-3 years and to some of you guys observations of evergreen hydrangeas, my "previously" evergreen hydrangeas (oakleaf Snow Queen and Pee Wee) this year finally dried out the leaves today. They are in a protected location but it has been warm and then dooown to the teens. 13 is tonight's low before we start going back up. Last year, we had only one drop to the teens and blooming this month (non-hydrangeas) and hydrangea leaf out in February. I do have some pink blooms in the Quinces though. Some brown flower buds in the camellias too.