To develop good fall color, these need some direct sun....several hours worth at least. My 'Little Honey' gets no direct sunlight due to its positioning and the leaves retain the golden/chartreuse color indefinitely into the winter. At a previous residence it did receive several hours of sunlight and developed beautiful fall color.

my only oakleaf..it has never bloomed..has barely any fall color..soon after I planted it (2yrs? ago) a limb fell on it and I had to remove several nice stems..this is actually one of my "sunny" spots but not ideal for this oakleaf..I'm still glad to have it..

I have a Jetstream in near full shade that looks picture above now frozen with the leaves on it. The ones in more sun turn red if the fall is long enough.

I am in the same boat as you this year, stir_fryi. Due to 25+ inches of rains in September and October (cloudy weather), most of my oakleafs have little fall foliage to show. But in November, the sun finally came out and I detected some foliage change. Hope you get some late foliage color from the oakleaf as trees shed their leaves.

The one I have under a tree would normally get some direct sun in the afternoon in the Fall and change colors. It is in full sun now as the tree has lost most of the leaves. It seems to be reacting, albeit a little late probably. It is in an unprotected northern location so, sigh, it may shed leaves literally now as we are going slightly below freezing at night for the next few days. The other oakleafs are in more protected locations and never shed leaves in mild winters... maybe those will show fall colors soon. More sunlight helps those pigments put on a show. Knock on wood.

my shade strikes again..the fall color on my oakleaf probably won't ever be dramatic..but I would still rather live surrounded by trees..

Dwarf Oakleaf in pot, about 3 years old growing on deck. Full sun from 11am till sundown. Photo taken Sept 13, 2018.

Very nice. But my strong afternoon sun down here would scorch the leaves. Did you cut off the blooms?

The Oakleaf is only 3-4 years old and has not bloomed yet. Can take 5-8 years or more for first ones. It was a gift from my son - horticulturist - and he said that the one that we brought from CA was moved several time and did not bloom for almost 10 years. Seems the Oakleafs are long lived, but take their time before they bloom. Has this been seen in other gardens? Time to get Dirr's book and check what he has to say. I just checked some responsible websites and still got all kinds of opposing information. LOL Plant in shade, sun, speckled sun and every other condition to increase blooms. No wonder people get confused and of course the growing zone also affects the plants. I will try to get a pic tomorrow of the older one in the garden that is still blooming and the color of the leaves is very different from the red one.

This oakleaf is about 15 years old. Was started from cutting, moved from CA, 11 years ago and then moved three times in present garden. It is about 5-6 ft tall, growing on hill and partially shaded by over-exuberant Grevillea victoriae.

Here is my 'Little Honey' today, 11/21. Not a hint of fall color except a bit of copper on the newest foliage. But It gets very little direct sunlight except for maybe an hour very late in the day. It has also morphed into a much deepr green color than it normally displays during the rest of the season.

It also didn't develop any fall color to speak of last year either but did hold on to 95% of its leaves all winter....I actually had to remove them manually as the new buds were unfurling in spring!!

I had a maple and beech cut down last year pretty close to Little Honey. It has really grown a lot and the color is better with more sun this year. Even the Spirea bloomed a little this year (first time) and the native azaleas bloomed a little too.

Pitiful display of native azalea but a promise for years to come?

compared to the ones we had at our last house.

I let my oakleafs unfurl new leaves alongside the old ones. The oldies sort of disappear on their own.

I like the azalea picture, hc. Looks like a Piedmont Azalea.

Luis, that would be fine (and what I have done with other oakleafs I have grown) but the old leaves didn't just 'disappear' :-) They remained quite firmly in place unless I manually removed them. I was still plucking off last year's leaves in the middle of this growing season!

And that IS a gorgeous azalea (and I don't even like pink!!). Does it have a strong scent?

luis, it is a Piedmont Azalea and gardengal, it has a lovely spicy scent that is not a strong, almost sickening smell like Wisteria or Gardenia. My youngest daughter in front of two at the old house (15 years ago)

I love the scent of deciduous azaleas!! Not all have it but those that do smell divine!! Rhododendron viscosum and some of its hybrids are often available here but typically it will just be some of the mollis hybrids that offer that spicy, almost clove-like scent.

You hit the nail on the head - couldn't think of cloves but only cinnamon. HA!

Wished I had some photos of the red native azalea around Providence Canyon near Columbus, GA (plum leaf azalea that blooms in late June - early July) but only had film back then.

https://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/azaleas/prunifolium.html

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=native+azalea+providence+canyon%2c+ga&qpvt=native+azalea+providence+canyon%2c+ga&FORM=IGRE

This is kind of rhododendron central here in the PNW - you can get a huge range of species and hybrids - but most of the east coast species rhodies/azaleas are hard to find. Not sure if they just don't do as well (the viscosums do just fine, IME) or just a lack of availability. And those almost always have a delicious scent!!

Enjoy 'em when you can!!

RS, my oakleaf under a tree on the north side of the property, turned the leaves dark red and purple over the last few weeks. Others in protected locations remain green.

My Rhododendron prinophyllum is one of the best smelling shrubs I have.

Enjoy. I would get it for looks alone in May/June... (nice shade of pink).

Another nice one is Exbury Azalea but I think that is a hybrid?

I would love cuttings of oakleaf

Check eBay, some sellers may have cuttings for sale. Most vendors have them in pots with roots though which makes it much easier to get off to a good start.

Okay I will check eBay, thank you.

Is it being grown anywhere around you? If so, I would politely ask the homeowner if you can take some cuttings. Hydrangeas of all species are pretty darn easily grown from cuttings. Late spring softwood cuttings are fast and very easy.

Garden clubs also have Spring Sales to make some money. Some of the offerings are from hydrangea cuttings but sometimes they are giveaways from local plant nurseries. Check them out too. Local newspapers sometimes advertise these sales on their weekly 'plant' sections.