Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas Blooming - July 2021

Last Summer, I planted a series of seven Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  Two dwarf versions and five normal ones.  These were contemplated as part of our existing landscape plan and I planted them along the fence on the southside in the bed closest to the kitchen nook window.  

Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas are officially named Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice' (thanks Roy Diblik) is described by NC State Extension office as a shrub that puts on a white flower show that fade to pink.  From their post:

Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Alice' is an erect rounded decidous shrub with showy white flowers that appear in early to mid-summer. As the flowers age they fade to pink. This shrub will reach a height of 5 to 8 feet tall and wide at maturity. Plant 'Alice' in the full sun to partial shade in moist well-drained soil. Mulch this plant in the summer to conserve soil moisture. 

Like all hydrangeas, it needs to be pruned immediately after flowering as flower buds are produced on second year wood.

I initially planted all seven in a group, but after just one growing season, I realized that they were too close to the fence.  They would have been fine in their spot, but when I say 'too close' to the fence, I mean that I want to plant some things *behind* them.  (More on that in a different post to come.) Thus, I dug up all of them and moved them out a few feet from the fence.  I had a teardown hydrangea from a few houses down planted in this section that I decided to leave in the middle.  I took the two dwarf Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice' and set them a bit in front and put one on each end.  Then, I put two of the larger hydrangeas on either side of the existing Teardown Hydrangea.  Making a row of seven in total.  From left-to-right:  dwarf Alice Oakleaf, Alice Oakleaf, Alice Oakleaf, Teardown (potentially Little Lime?), Alice Oakleaf, Alice Oakleaf, dwarf Alice Oakleaf.  

The photo below shows their current state. Five of the seven are flowering - the two larger ones on the right in bloom - and some of them have started to turn pink. 

Thinking about them being in the ground just a year and having had to deal with some transplant shock this year, I'm really happy with their size.  That note about pruning as soon as they flower is something I'm going to try to work on this year.  They are a little leggy - without a ton of growth near the bottom - so I'm thinking they can use a little bit of pruning to let them focus down trunk. 

There's one more thing:  I mentioned planting seven last year.  There are only six here.  I ended up moving one of them over to the Priority Area #2 - which calls for three Oakleaf Hydrangeas (the label was cut off from the screenshot I posted here).