Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub

Height at Maturity: 3-4′

Width at Maturity: 3-5′

Suggested Spacing: 3 to 4 feet apart for solid hedge; 8 feet or more apart for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Mounding

Flower Color: White fading to Ruby Red

Flower Size: Large -up to 9″ inches long

Flowering Period: Late Spring Through Summer

Flower Type: Single in large, long clusters

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Green shades

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: NA

Berry Color: NA

Sun Needs: Part Shade (morning sun with afternoon shade or all day filtered sun)

Water Needs: Average, low when established

Soil Type: Clay (amended), Loam, Sand (amended), Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained Moist

Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.5 (Acid to Slightly Alkaline)

Maintenance / Care: Very Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer – more info, Disease, Drought (when established in part shade), Heat, Humidity, Insect

Description

Ruby Slippers provides the same four-season appeal and lavish flower production as its larger growing Oakleaf Hydrangea cousins but in less than half the space. LOADS of large, elongated flower clusters open to white in late spring or early summer and change to a dazzling ruby red as the season progresses. But the color show doesn’t stop with the flowers. The bold, oak-shaped green leaves turn a magnificent mahogany red color in fall. The dried flowerheads and the peeling rich brown color bark provides interest in the garden throughout the winter months.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing in a mound to only 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide, Ruby Slippers Hydrangea is an excellent selection for smaller garden spaces where larger oakleaf hydrangeas won’t fit. Ruby Slippers is ideal for use as an accent or specimen, in groupings or mass plantings, or as a low natural hedge in landscape and flowering shrub borders or home foundation plantings. Its smaller size makes it perfect for use in pots, planters and other containers of 14 inches or more in rim diameter. Right at home in the partially sunny woodland border or cottage and cut flower gardens. Also a nice addition to white color themed gardens and tropical-look gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 3 to 4 feet apart for solid hedge; 8 feet or more apart for space between plants

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Hydrangea variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know that it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and place back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Ruby Slippers Hydrangea is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained, soil with average fertility and full sun to part shade in northern zones where it will grow and shade to part shade (morning sun with afternoon shade or filtered sun) in southern zones. It prefers a soil rich in organic matter. For best flowering, we suggest 6 hours of direct sun light per day. As with so many other ornamental plants, a constantly soggy or wet soil is problematic. Highly resistant to pests and diseases.

Note: Ruby Slippers is a Hydrangea quercifolia (oakleaf) species that produces its flowers from buds that formed on “old wood” (during the previous year). Oakleaf hydrangeas typically require little to no pruning. They are best left alone. That said they can be pruned to remove a stray branch or to reduce size.

For proper pruning time and techniques on various types of Hydrangea see: How To Prune Various Types Of Hydrangea

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to get helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Oakleaf Hydrangeas.

How To Plant Hydrangeas In The Ground & Pots

How To Prune Various Types Of Hydrangea

How To Fertilize And Water Hydrangeas

Plant Long & Prosper!

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Questions? Contact Us

I ordered three of the 7 gallon. One order was for 2 and the other order was for the third. I felt a third one would be better to really fill in an area.
The first two arrived with about 4 or five whitish/pink flowers on them. About 2 feet tall and about 30 inches across in all direction.
The third one arrived a day later and about the same size as the first two. However, no flowers on the third one. All 3 plants look very healthy and I’m happy about them. More importantly, my wife loves them!
We are hoping that the third one will provide some flowers this year but I don’t think it will.
The fall color should be great.——————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG