Dried flower heads are popular in fall and winter floral designs. Hydrangea quercifolia is commonly called oakleaf hydrangea because the leaves are shaped like oak leaves. It often has many fertile flowers mixed with sterile florets. Cultivars of H. quercifolia have a higher proportion of sterile florets. Panicles of flowers are produced in mid-summer.
Flowers open creamy white then fade through pink and green to brown.
If harvested at a particular color stage and hung upside down in a dark, well-ventilated area to dry, the flowers will retain some of their original color. Oakleaf hydrangea can be grown in sun or shade and prefers a rich, moist soil. Height, foliage size, and fall color will vary dramatically depending upon growing conditions. Leaves are 4 to 6 inches long, hairy, and turn purple in autumn when grown in full sun but may be tissue paper thin, well over a foot long, and turn orange-red in autumn when grown in deep, moist shade in the mountains. Shade is required in the piedmont and coastal plain with the most attractive plants grown in shade throughout North Carolina.