- zone 5a (central Indiana)
- fairly protected site; planting location would be on the north side of my house in a corner created by the house and a 6' wood fence. The south side of neighbor's house is approx. 16'ish feet away.
- I believe it will be entirely shaded all day from the shadow of the house. As it grows (assuming it grows!) it may eventually extend past the shade then may get some afternoon sun
- Soil is hard Indiana clay but I can amend if necessary
- Moisture is probably more on the dry side if I had to choose, but I have hose
- Should be plenty of space for it to fill in the entire corner (up to approx. 8' in diameter, then will have to prune if it gets bigger)

I'd love to plant this but I'm a little worried about my zone as I think zone 5a is marginal. If this shrub is not ideal, any suggestions out there? Also, I'm not too familiar with the different oakleaf varieties so perhaps one would work better than another.

Thanks!

The only thing you can't really count on is the flowers. It you have a harsh winter I believe the flower buds die off below -15 degrees.

Also count on slow growth in your clay soil.

i also have two planted at the same time (two yrs. ago) on the east side (several hrs. of sun)

all four look absolutely wonderful!

from my reading & asking questions at the nursery i came away with this:

i improved my soil with: composted manure, spanghum peat moss & pinebark fines ~~ then planted them so that they would be elevated ~~ they are very finicky about having their feet wet; and, IF i understand everything i've been told, if they don't make it thru our brutal winters, it is actually NOT the brutal winters ~ but our wet & soggy springs ~ excellent drainage is key to their survival ~

hope i said that in a way that is understandable???

good luck, phyl

p.s. the chicago botanical gardens are very helpful 1-847-835-5440

FWIW, if I was limited to only one hydrangea in my garden (heaven forbid!!), it would be an oakleaf without question. However, I do not live a similarly cold zone so have no firsthand experience on how well they do in zone 5.

In any case, I no longer protect them and don't have to water them as much, and they are gorgeous, just gorgeous! They suffer very little die-back now, but they are now mature/established. I have noticed that the two bushes that catch more sun out of the five in that grouping do produce more flowers and have better fall coloring - a beautiful rich red (the other three in less sun turn an "eh" deeper burgundy color) and are a little lusher in terms of foliage.

Even if they never threw a flower, I would still grow them for the outstanding foliage effect. :0)

I recently purchased a couple Pee Wee dwarf oakleafs, and I plan on protecting them over winter because they are right next to the driveway, and I'm afraid the snow throwing will crack the branches - mature oakleaf branches are rather brittle and can break easily, just bumping into a branch the wrong way sometimes causes a branch to snap, so dumping snow on them will more than likely wreck them (not because of me, but because DH pays no attention to much of anything let alone aiming the output of the blower away from the bushes....)

Last Winter all were protected w/ a chicken-wire surround, dumped w/ leaf mulch ... observed only a few old canes that suffered. Alice has out-grown her wire fence ... am wondering if she can now be left, to fend for herself? I still intend to provide a tent for still smallish SQ & PW (located in N-foundation bed, a corridor of the NW wicked winds). PW has sprawled wider now has out-grown his wire cage, as well. I might just drive some stakes, dump some leaves & top w/ burlap. A local nursery said ... just mulch heavily at the base. You're a bit warmer than where I am ... what do you think?
TIA mxk3

Gardengal148 - I'm with you, if OL Hs can have all the character traits of Paniculatas!!! I guess we can't *have our cake & eat it too* huh?! LOL *No pains no gains* doesn't always work either ... only patience ... Ma Nature controls, even in right growing zones!