To encourage healthy growth, fertilize your oakleaf hydrangea each spring with a general-purpose garden fertilizer and top dress with fresh compost. Unlike mophead-style hydrangeas, oakleaf hydrangeas won’t change their flower color based on soil acidity, so there’s no need to monitor or alter the pH of your soil.
Oakleaf hydrangeas produce flower buds the year before they bloom. Keep pruning to a minimum to maximize the floral display. Remove only the damaged and wayward branches each year as needed. This helps control the plant’s size while encouraging it to bloom.
How do you rejuvenate oakleaf hydrangeas?
Are oak leaf hydrangeas acid loving?
Soil – Oakleaf hydrangea prefers moist, organic, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.0 – 6.5. Drought tolerant once established, it does appreciate water during very dry conditions. Good drainage is important.
Should I fertilize oakleaf hydrangea? – Related Questions
Should I deadhead oakleaf hydrangea?
You should deadhead throughout the blooming season to keep your hydrangeas looking their beast and encourage new flower growth. However, stop deadheading hydrangea shrubs in mid to late fall, leaving any spent blooms in place.
Why is my oakleaf hydrangea not blooming?
Most varieties bloom on “old wood,” i.e., wood that grew and produced flower buds during the previous year. Therefore, early or late freezes or bitter winters may damage the flower buds. The other reason that hydrangeas don’t bloom is pruning at the wrong time.
Where is the best place to plant an oakleaf hydrangea?
Oakleaf Hydrangea Care
This shrub will do best when planted in a slightly acidic, rich, well-draining soil in full sun or part shade. It thrives in moist soil; a thick layer of mulch over the root zone will help retain soil moisture.
Can soil be too acidic for hydrangeas?
Hydrangeas grow best in soil that has a pH of 5.2-5.5. If your soil is not in that range, you will need to manipulate the soil so the plant can absorb its needed nutrients. Growing some acid-loving plants in pots may make manipulation easier.
Do oakleaf hydrangeas prefer sun or shade?
Oakleaf hydrangeas bloom best where summers are hot but prefer some afternoon shade. It its more northern range it can be planted in full sun. The greater the sun exposure the more prolific are the blooms and you’ll get the most spectacular fall color.
Can oakleaf hydrangea take full shade?
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
It is true that the oakleaf hydrangea can handle full shade, but it also does equally well in part shade and even some full-sun locations. The shade loving ability of this shrub might be the least of its attributes.
Should I cut back oakleaf hydrangea in the fall?
Oakleaf hydrangeas bloom on the previous season’s growth, so prune right after flowering in the fall or in early winter.
Why do oakleaf hydrangeas turn brown?
“Soil that is either too acidic or too alkaline can quickly cause your hydrangea flowers to turn brown, so it’s essential to have your soil tested to determine the right kind of fertilizer needed,” she explains.
How far back can you prune oakleaf hydrangea?
If deemed necessary, pruning should be done lightly. Prune shrubs back by no more than one-third of the total size of the plant, immediately following blooming. Remove any broken or damaged branches first, and then make your cuts just above a new bud node to encourage growth from those buds.
Can I prune oakleaf hydrangea to the ground?
If your oakleaf hydrangea is very old and woody, take out a few of the oldest, thickest stems all the way to the ground in the early spring to encourage some new growth. Don’t cut the entire plant to the ground, as you’ll both stress the plant and lose a whole season of blooms.
When should you not cut back hydrangeas?
Trimming should be done immediately after flowering stops in summer, but no later than August 1. Do not prune in fall, winter, or spring or you could be cutting off new buds. Tip-pruning the branches as leaves emerge in spring can encourage multiple, smaller flower heads rather than fewer larger flower heads.
Should I cut my hydrangea to the ground?
Cut these stems close to the ground. Remember buds for blooms are produced on old wood and the more old wood you remove the less floral display in the spring and summer. To rejuvenate the hydrangea, remove up to 1/3 of the older living stems down to the ground each summer. This will revitalize the plant.
What does baking soda do for hydrangeas?
Should hydrangeas be cut back for winter?
Cut back these shrubs in late winter before new growth begins. Because they need to grow and set buds the same year that they bloom, shrubs that flower on new wood generally start blossoming later than old-growth bloomers, beginning in midsummer and continuing until the first frost.
