Oak Leaf Hydrangeas, Lace Cap and Mop Head Hydrangeas

Oak Leaf Hydrangeas Shrub of Choice in Dallas!

Suddenly, in the last three years the Oak Leaf Hydrangea has become the star of the Texas home landscape.

Just as the Oak Leaf Hydrangea fades Mop Head Hydrangeas take their place!

Limelight Hydrangeas have always been a favorite. The delicate green color highlights the lovely white flower. Now they come in dwarf ‘pee-gee’ hydrangeas sizes as well. See more of this perfect shade perennial garden here.

Adding coffee grounds or other organic matter to you hydrangeas other organic material to your hydrangea’s soil will reduce the pH level and make aluminum more available to the plant. The result will be hydrangeas that are blue in color.

You can change the pH balance in your soil and turn the hydrangeas more blue. See the chart at the end of this post.

I always think of Jackie Kennedy when I see Lime Light Hydrangeas. A conversation with her designer turned silly when she asked him to create her room the color of new spring cabbages and her responded to ‘get real.’ Though that must have truly been one of her favorite colors. You see her wearing pale green in many images.

Cultivars with extensive flowering are: Snow Queen, Snow Flake, Harmony, and Alice.

Hostas Dallas Landscaping Lee Ann Torrans

The Oak Leaf Hydrangea grows six to eight feet tall and is a native plant that has bold white flowers. This hydrangea is beautiful in a wooded setting as an understory shrub. At 6-8 feet tall and wide it blooms profusely on bracts. Its huge oak-shaped leaves turn deep red in fall and drop to reveal a beautiful exfoliating bark.

Moist soil is necessary for two year establishment period. Do not rely on your sprinkler system the first two years this shrub is becoming established, particularly if it is planted on mostly sun. I use a soaker hose and a timer. I use a lightweight soft fabric type hose. The Gilmour Weeper/Soaker is the lightest and best I have found. I am no longer willing to drag around heavy hoses. My timer is starting its fourth year, an Orbit Timer.

Dallas Landscaping Lee Ann Torrans Garden Gates and Doors

You can see the new hydrangeas coming up on the right in the image below. River Ferns and Oak Leaf Hydrangea prefer the same environment and are a good combination. Many ferns are native to Texas and do exceedingly well.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea and River Ferns in Texas

Oakleaf Hydrangea come in multiple sizes.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea - Natural Southern Plant Alice

Oak Leaf Hydrangea – Alice

Oak Leaf Hydrangea – Snow Queen

I know, the house is so impressive the Oak Leaf Hydrangea gets lost but it’s there!

Fall coloring of the bract of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea.

Pruning:Hydrangeas produce their main flower clusters from the tips of shoots formed the previous season. If anything destroys the terminal buds of these shoots, the plant usually fails to bloom. The chief causes of destruction of the terminal buds are excessive winter cold and uninformed pruning. In severe cold winter weather they should be covered. Pruning should be done in summer as soon as the flowering season is over. When pruning, all the old flowering shoots should be removed down to the point on the stem where strong new growth is developing. If you want flowers, DO NOT prune in late fall, winter or spring.

As flowers fade, pruning back to the strongest pair of buds will produce new growth stems. As the plant matures, you should prune out woody older stems, dead branches, and any stems that cross or are broken.Oakleaf hydrangea also produces blooms on previous year’s growth. As flowers fade, prune back halfway. Prune any crossing, broken, or dead branches. To grow for foliage only, prune back to the ground each year in early spring.

Smooth hydrangea blooms on new spring growth. Prune back by half in early spring. Pruning back to the ground produces the largest flower clusters but the stems cannot always hold them up. When heading back, cut out dead, crowded, or weak stems.Climbing hydrangea require little pruning until well established and climbing. At that time, cut back any unwanted stems.

Blooming Times of French and Oak Leaf

While there may be a bit of overlap in the blooming times of the French Hydrangea and the Oak Leaf Hydrangea, generally the OakLeaf is just ending it’s blooming period as the French Hydrangea enters it prime.

Photos on the same day:

French Hydrangea blooms on old wood. Early April photo which demonstrates this plant has significant growth ahead before blooming begins..

The beautiful purple shamrock mixing with Wood Sorrel, both from the oxalis family blending and contrasting with a purple Barberry and Oak Leaf Hydrangea. The hydrangea will bloom in late April.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea will bloom in late April This plant is ready to bloom.

Rooting the Mop Head Hydrangea

Rooting: Hydrangeas are so simple to root. Every summer, after the blooms are gone, I take a long stem, dig a small trench, generally, nine inches long and three inches deep under the stem with about four inches of the stem extending from the trench. I cover over the rest of the stem in the trench, and place a brick over it, and I remember Nell, the lady that taught this to me.

Next spring I have a lovely new hydrangea that has rooted from the stem. For me, each plant generally produces four new plants by doing this. In no time, you will have a yard full of hydrangeas and be sharing them with your friends.

Changing the Color: You can change the color of the hydrangea by changing the PH of the soil. In my grandmothers time, they did not purchase chemicals to do this. They would bury rusty nails and pieces of iron, to turn the hydrangeas pink. Today most people purchase aluminum for blue or lime for pink.

Texas Acid Soil Favors Blue: Going from pink to blue is easier than blue to pink. Pink to blue requires the extensive addition of aluminum to the soil. Dig little trenches and place it in there at least once a week.

The intensity of the color, however, is a genetic feature. The hydrangeas below are first season, from pots. Read more about hydrangeas at this excellent website: http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/index.html

The classic combination, wood fern and mop head hydrangea. Prune your hydrangea when the flowers have faded and strong shoots are forming from the lower parts of the stems and crown. Remove some of the old and new weaker shoots from the base of the plant, but be sure not to cut the plant all the way back to the ground. Always try to keep several stems of old productive wood, with a sufficient number of stout new stems that will flower the following season.

The French Hydrangea can achieve heights of four feet in a year. The large foliage is dark green, but being deciduous, is gone in the winter. Blooms appear on previous year’s growth, so prune only the stems that produced this year’s flowers; otherwise you will not have blooms next year.

Variegated Hydrangea

Tree Form Hydrangea: “Peegee”, grows up to 15 feet and blooms later.

Hydrangeas can be grown successfully in parts of Texas, though they require careful site selection and moisture management. The oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is the best-suited species for much of the state, particularly in Central and East Texas, thanks to its tolerance for heat and occasional drought once established.

Its large, lobed leaves and cone-shaped white flowers make it a striking native shrub, and it performs reliably in dappled shade. Cultivars like ‘Snow Queen’ and ‘Alice’ have received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit and are known for their upright form and strong bloom performance.

The French hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), known for its round, mophead blooms in pink, blue, or purple, struggles in most of Texas except the more temperate and humid eastern region. It requires acidic, consistently moist soil and morning sun only; otherwise, it wilts in the heat.

Cream-colored varieties, such as ‘Annabelle’ (Hydrangea arborescens), and variegated types like ‘Mariesii Variegata’ are grown more as collector’s plants in protected microclimates. These types need rich soil, shade from afternoon sun, and frequent watering. Success with hydrangeas in Texas depends heavily on species selection, soil type, and microclimate, but oakleaf types are generally the most dependable statewide.

Hydrangeas in Texas: 10 Questions and Answers

1. Q: Which hydrangea type performs best across most of Texas?
A: The oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is the most reliable statewide, especially in Central and North Texas. It’s heat-tolerant and needs less water once established.

2. Q: Can French hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) grow in Texas?
A: Yes, but only in East Texas where the climate is more humid. They require morning sun, afternoon shade, and acidic, consistently moist soil.

3. Q: How do you change a French hydrangea’s flower color from pink to blue?
A: Lower the soil pH (more acidic) by adding aluminum sulfate or sulfur. This makes aluminum more available to the plant, turning blooms blue.

4. Q: How do you change hydrangea flowers from blue to pink?
A: Raise the soil pH (make it more alkaline) by adding lime (ground agricultural limestone). Alkaline soil reduces aluminum uptake, resulting in pink flowers.

5. Q: Do oakleaf hydrangeas change color like French hydrangeas?
A: No. Oakleaf hydrangea blooms are white and age to pink or tan but are not pH-sensitive like H. macrophylla.

6. Q: Are there cream-colored hydrangeas suitable for Texas?
A: Yes. ‘Annabelle’ (Hydrangea arborescens) produces large cream to white blooms and tolerates heat if planted in part shade with consistent water.

7. Q: Can variegated hydrangeas be grown in Texas?
A: Variegated varieties like ‘Mariesii Variegata’ can grow in East Texas or protected gardens elsewhere but are more sensitive to heat and need afternoon shade.

8. Q: Which hydrangea varieties have received awards?
A: Oakleaf cultivars such as ‘Snow Queen’ and ‘Alice’ have earned the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit for their performance and form.

9. Q: What soil is best for hydrangeas in Texas?
A: Moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil with high organic matter is best. In alkaline clay soils, consider raised beds or soil amendments.

10. Q: When is the best time to prune hydrangeas in Texas?
A: Prune oakleaf and French hydrangeas right after blooming (late spring to early summer) since they bloom on old wood. ‘Annabelle’ can be cut back in late winter since it blooms on new wood.

To Lower Soil pH (Make It More Acidic)

(Good for turning hydrangea blooms blue)

Item	How It Works	Notes
Used coffee grounds	Mildly acidic; adds organic matter	Best composted first; don’t use in excess
White vinegar (diluted)	Contains acetic acid	Mix 1 tbsp per gallon of water; use sparingly
Lemon juice	Citric acid lowers pH	Short-term; dilute before applying
Pine needles	Decompose into acidic organic matter	Works over time; great as mulch
Peat moss	Naturally acidic and retains moisture	Mix into soil before planting
Sulfur (garden sulfur)	Converts to sulfuric acid in soil	Slower but long-lasting; not a food item but commonly used

To Raise Soil pH (Make It More Alkaline)

(Good for turning hydrangea blooms pink)

Item	How It Works	Notes
Crushed eggshells	Calcium carbonate raises pH	Slow release; best ground finely
Wood ash (from untreated wood)	Naturally alkaline, adds potassium	Use lightly—can over-alkalize
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)	Temporarily raises pH	Mix 1 tsp per gallon of water; not a long-term fix
Lime (agricultural lime)	Calcium carbonate or dolomite lime	Most effective long-term method
Ground oyster shell or Tums	Calcium-based antacids	Grind and use very sparingly; slow-acting