According to one site: Some improvements make this Oakleaf Hydrangea significantly better. Its upright habit is useful in small spaces; its rich green leaves take full sun and its large, white, well-filled flower heads are held on rigid stems and do not droop after rain.

Thank you all for the responses to my questions. I don't usually abandon a thread like this, I apologize. I am not sure if I have been getting all the responses in my mailbox as I used to do. GW has been erratic for me in that regard. ego..I really enjoy the photo of your Oakleaf and hope that next year I can pay more attention to my two so that some day they may look like that. :-) We had the worst drought this year that I can ever remember in my garden in the past 27 years. We had a water ban and even when other surrounding towns received rain, for some reason we would get a sprinkle and that would be it. Some of my shrubs and perennials look pretty awful and the Oakleafs especially. I start out with dry shade/part shade in a majority of my yard, so I don't think they appreciate those conditions. I am waiting for spring to move one of them due to the fact that it is in such bad shape I don't want to stress it further. Actually, I am having difficulty getting shrubs established at all along my lot line that is in the root zone of several maples. They just suck the moisture and nutrients out of the soil. We left two piles around the garden this summer..one was leftover soil from a patio project and one was unused mulch. Within a couple of months time, the mulch pile was full of tree roots and the pile of dirt which was there a good 6 months and was 3 feet high, had tree roots through it all the way to the top of the pile. Which has me thinking, no wonder my shrubs are slow to grow etc. I am trying to keep them well watered between now and a freeze and ordered 5yds of composted cow manure to spread along that lot line. I am hoping that will help but after seeing the roots in the piles, I am wondering if I need to dig out around the shrubs again and see if that will give them some more growing room for another year. I actually have two shrubs that seem to be doing well without any additional attention. A cornus racemosa that has doubled in size under the dripline of a very large Silver Maple and a Viburnum Wentworth that is also twice the size and bushy with no sign of drought stress at all. I am tempted to fill the whole back lot with just those two shrubs..lol. I do love the Oakleaf Hydrangeas and will try to help them along to continue to see some growth. Thanks for all the input... pm2

I agree with tsmith, as to amount of direct sunlight an Oakleaf Hydrangea can tolerate. The best blooming / growing cultivars in my garden and throughout the neighborhood, receive full afternoon or all-day sun exposure. Haven't experienced or observed any leaf scorch at all throughout the many years they have been growing. Be sure they receive good drainage, as they absolutely will not tolerate wet feet! Mulch and keep watered for the first couple of years, after the roots become established, you can pretty much ignore them.

The leaf out time various on one's location and weather. Mine leafed out in late March but I had a mild winter at that time and I am way south of you. Expect leaf out by May, perhaps late May, at the worst. This is its 1st year so things may be off. Continue TLC (keep the soil as evenly moist as you can and keep it mulch all year around). Stems that do not leaf out by the end of this month may not do so. You can scratch the stems very carefully to see if you see green or not. Good luck and enjoy the fall foliage. Snow Queen is already blooming down here in the South. Pee Wee is close to opening the sepals. Ruby Slippers has two small blooms that look like they opened this week.