Hydrangea quercifolia 'Hqopr010' ICE CRYSTAL oak-leaved (oakleaf) hydrangea
Hydrangea
Oakleaf hydrangea is a sought-after flowering plant because it offers many beautiful features at once: unusually shaped leaves, abundant flowering, and attractive autumn leaf colouration. It is native to the southeastern part of the USA and was first described by the American botanist William Bartram (1739-1823) during his botanical exploration, which he conducted between 1773 and 1777 in the area of present-day Georgia. Despite being a very warm location, this hydrangea has demonstrated the ability to survive frosts far further north, down to -30 °C, and some varieties can cope with even harder frost. Its undying popularity is reflected in the new varieties that are still being bred today.ICE CRYSTAL is an absolutely unique variety in the world of oakleaf hydrangeas, thanks to its leaves. Unlike most others whose leaves recall leaves of red oaks or large-leaved maples, this beauty has deeply incised foliage with conspicuous lobes owing to which they look like leaves of swamp oak. Moreover, they turn fantastic shades in autumn, just like swamp oak. But first things first. They are deciduous, coarse, about 25-30 cm long, and start off bright green in spring, keeping this upbeat shade through summer. But with the first cold nights of August, they turn crimson red, copper, and end in a fascinating deep burgundy hue, just like the autumn leaves of the most beautiful sweetgum trees. And the best part is that this entire color show lasts – drumroll, please – for more than two months!
The inflorescences are smaller, mostly made up of fertile flowers – these are the less noticeable ones. The sterile flowers are creamy white with four petals, soon turning pale pink and browning by the end of summer. The plant grows rather slowly into an upright and dense shrub, reaching slightly over 1.5 m in height and a little more in width in maturity. There is no need for pruning to maintain a nice shape. If you wish to shape the plant, do so immediately after flowering, so it can develop sufficiently mature branches that will bloom the following year. The stems have attractive, cinnamon-orange bark that peels in thin flakes, which is particularly striking in winter. ICE CRYSTAL copes well in full sun in evenly moist soil.
Native habitat of oakleaf hydrangea ranges from moist meadows to partly waterlogged streambanks where the soil has enough nutrients. Provide similar conditions for it in your garden as well. It tolerates heavy soils well; it just may take a while to establish there. It will be happiest in partial shade, but in permanently moist soil, it will thrive even in full sun. Appropriate fertilization will enhance its beauty, but excessive feeding will result in rapid growth and weak branches. Under good conditions, the plant may produce suckers, but it is very easy to keep in place by their removal which can yield new seedlings for planting elsewhere or serve as a gift to your green-fingered friend. Fully hardy to at least -29 °C (USDA zone 5).
Last update: 26-03-2017; 28-01-2025
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
