The Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea, otherwise known as the Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ or St. John’s Wort ‘Elstead’, Hypericum ‘Elstead’, Hypericum elatum ‘Elstead’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ in an environment where it can receive partial shade to partial sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And as with many other houseplants from our index, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea belongs to the Hypericaceae family, the genus Hypericum and the species Hypericum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (hye-DRAYN-jee-uh kwerk-i-FOL-i-a).
As with other Hypericum’s, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is a plant native to the Europe.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ can grow up to 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) in 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) and 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) in 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm).
These dimensions make the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 48″ (120cm) free so the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea requires partial shade to partial sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ in from full or deep shade (no direct sunlight or at most 2 hours per day), to little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
In particular, this shrub is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea produces some beautiful pink, or gold/yellow flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea is well known for its tolerance to drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Hydrangea Quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of gravel and rock garden, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, banks and slopes, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a urban garden, specimen, mass planting, hedge, dry shade, cutting garden, border, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Azalea, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Hosta will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea in your garden or home.
