Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers'

Kind of a slow start but these amazed me with their beauty and performance. This will be the third year and getting better every year! Mo...Read Morebile, Alabama, zone 8b.

An update for 2022. They are even more fantastic! I need to make cuttings! Everyone is so jealous!

Ruby Slippers is a beautiful shrub. I've grown it for several years in zone 6 near Boston, and it's bloomed every year. (I suspect it won...Read More't bloom much this year, because last winter's weird warm-cold-warm cycles killed off the tips of most of the branches and it blooms on old wood.) The leaves turn an unusual, gorgeous mahogany color in the fall, and they look good during the growing season too -- great shape and substance. The only thing I don't like about Ruby Slippers is that the flower heads turn brown pretty quickly. The flowers open white in June and turn reddish-pink in July, but well before the end of summer, they're all brown, and not too attractive. Most hydrangea flowers look good for longer.

Anybody know of a dwarf oakleaf hydrangea whose flower heads don't turn brown so fast?

In Spring 2016, mail-ordered from Michigan BUlb Co a plant under the name ""Li'l Ruby Dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea" . I must assume this is id...Read Moreentical, or close to, Ruby Slippers H. So posting my comment here. I planted it on arrival into a larger container, as my new flowerbed was still under construction. Planted into permanent ground in late June 2016. It's been doing very well. For the rest of 2016 summer, continued to grow despite brutal drought. I watered it regularly though. Survived the winter very well (i am in zone 7a, and on top of this, the winter was milder than usual). This summer (writing this in late August 2017) it grew to 3' tall and wide, and produced 1 huge inflorecense and 1 smaller one. I plan to propagate a couple more plants from it, by cuttings. Will post results in a year. Late June 2018: after another mostly mild winter, this shrub is literally covered with pristine white, huge panicles. No care, no pruning, only warering in dry periods. Late Last summer i noticed new white blooms, arising apparently on new wood, while the first wave of blooms was already faded. Hige plus as i like white. Perhaps the fading blooms should be pruned off to encourage the second wave. Will try this in a month.

Just received 2 of these to plant in my front border. There have been a couple of comments about bloom failure. I see that the plants can...Read More lose significant flower buds if planted in areas with harsh (-10 degrees) winters; heavy mulch and burlap wrap has been advised for those areas. We are in zone 5b. I'll give it a try, but wish I'd chosen something that needs less babying.