Thanks! i understand it will take a few years and patience, it sounds like a fun project to take up. would it actually just not work with an oak leaf, or is it just fussier? i would think that any shrub could be trained with the right pruning and supports…

Oak leaf Hydrangea is very prone to root suckers and its basic habit is that of a clumping shrub. With time and the right setting they can get big enough to walk under - sort of.

Most hydrangeas are caning or suckering shrubs that produce a multiple of stems from the root crown. These types of shrubs do not lend themselves to being trained into a tree form, which is why you never see them offered in this form at nurseries. Paniculatas tend to have a single stem or trunk so somewhat easier to train in this manner.

btw, this is not necessarily something I would recommend the average gardener undertake. You need to start with a very young, small plant and it can take as many as 7-10 years before you achieve the tree form.

Its about a 4 year process in the nursery on a paniculata

I have seen tree form hydrangeas sold from paniculatas to macrophyllas but not the oakleaf hydrangeas. Perhaps their structure makes it difficult or unfeasable (too expensive or difficult). I know that just to start, they are more difficult to propagate than a Big Leaf Hydrangea macrophylla

@luis_pr, I'd be very interested to know who is growing and selling tree-form macrophyllas. In almost 50 years of gardening I've never seen or heard of one and I've searched the 'net but I see no such beast in existence :-) It has always been my understanding that only paniculatas can be trained in this manner and all of my sources support that.

If it can be done, I'd love to see one!

These people offer a standard https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/hydrangea-tree-kings-red-giant-red-mophead-standard-100-120cms-tall?fee=6&fep=14131&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7ral4tn6-AIVG-vtCh3BzwDnEAQYAiABEgJcj_D_BwE But it’s not what I’d call a tree. And the company has a terrible reputation. I doubt the product would be much good or survive long.