- Huge Panicle Blooms!
- White Blooms Turn Pink Then Deep Rose
- Wonderful Cut Flower
- Lovely Fall Color
- Oak Leaf-Like Foliage
- Cold and Heat Hardy
- Wildlife Interest
- Great Dried Decor
- Loves Moisture!
- Strong Stems
- Full Sun to Part Shade
Click your heels together and wish for a landscape plant that truly makes no place like home!
Ruby Slippers Hydrangea is the perfect dwarf, Munchkin of a shrub that will help transform your landscape into something magical! With loads of color, Ruby Slippers (Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’) is an Oakleaf Hydrangea. Small and compact, deciduous boasting impressive summer flowers and fall color.
Introduced in 2010 by the U. S. National Arboretum, Ruby Slippers has been providing gardens with a wow factor ever since!
The dark green, deeply-lobed leaves are reminiscent of Oak leaves and create a nicely-rounded, vibrant shrub all summer long. Those same leaves transform into a spicy, mahogany red in the fall for a last burst of color.
In the summer, long 9-inch spikes of clustered white blossoms will reach high above the foliage, slowly maturing from pale pink, to hot pink, and eventually resemble the dark “ruby slippers” for which your shrub is named.
Ruby Slippers has a compact, dense nature that makes them useful for smaller spaces, but the elongated nature of the flower spikes ensures that it’s eye-catching in almost any garden location. Prolific flower buds are wonderful at attracting pollinators and butterflies alike.
Standing bolt upright from the shrub, the tall, conical-shaped, showy flowers begin in late spring and last through winter if you do not prune them off. The exfoliating bark has remarkable texture and color for winter interest. These robust blooms and sturdy stems remain strong, even after storms and heavy rains.
These massive blossoms are also perfectly suited for cut flower arrangements and bouquets. Once dried, they also are often used to create lovely home decor!
How to Use Ruby Slippers Hydrangea In The Landscape
An upright shrub that naturally suckers, this multi-stemmed dwarf shrub can reach 3-4′ tall. It is native from Georgia to Florida to Louisiana in moist woods and along stream banks.
The compactness of Ruby Slippers makes it perfect as a spectacular specimen or accent plant and really bumps up the curb appeal when used as foundation plantings. An eye-catching patio plant, these gorgeous blooms and foliage, combined with lush colors and bark texture, make Ruby Slippers a great, four-season shrub for any place in the landscape!
When grouped or when planted en mass, these great characteristics are amplified big time! Amazingly brilliant as a mixed-shrub garden addition or as a colorful, privacy border or informal hedge! Cutting gardens and English borders become more magical with the incorporation of a Ruby Slippers Hydrangea!
Their smaller, compact size, makes them wonderful for smaller urban gardens and areas without lots of space for a large shrub! One of these beauties is all you need since they pack in all those wonderful accents! This smaller size also makes them perfect for container plants and use in planters!
Their lovely form and shade tolerance make them ideal in open woodland areas and along shadier tree lines. These would make an outstanding shrub hedge along a property line for the amazing summer color in your yard. Hydrangeas are always spectacular and your Ruby Slippers is no exception!
Tips For Care
Ruby Slippers is a dwarf shrub that is very easy to care for and very low maintenance! Being a North American Native plant, you know they’re also hardy and tough plants as well!
Fast-growing, you’ll have that colorful impact on your landscape in no time and you’ll reap the benefits of all of Ruby Slippers’ unique features.
Hydrangeas tolerate acidic soil, and really any soil type, just as long as it is well-draining and has ample access to water. Doing their very best in organically rich, medium moisture locations that are watered regularly, especially during the heat of summer. A generous layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture as well as insulate the root system from heat and chill.
Ruby Slippers thrives in both full sun to partial shade. As always, the more sun you give it, the better the color! Plants should be given a sheltered location and winter protection in USDA zone 5, particularly when not fully established. Hydrangea that are grown in warmer climates will appreciate some afternoon shade.
This Hydrangea doesn’t require pruning but is amenable to it if you choose to do a little shaping. Blooming on old wood, so prune if needed immediately after flowering. Winter-damaged stems may be pruned in early spring before you see new leaves emerge. This is also the best time to fertilize with a blooming plant fertilizer or one geared towards acid-loving Hydrangeas.
Your Ruby Slippers Hydrangea is not only a beautiful and sturdy Hydrangea but easy to care for and everything your heart desires as well!
