• Photo of Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey's)

Plant Profile: Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'

Names

Hydrangea, Little Honey Hydrangea, Oak Leaf Hydrangea

  • Photo of Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey's)

Phonetic Spelling:

Genus:Hydrangea

Species:quercifolia

Family:Hydrangeaceae

The Little Honey Hydrangea is a compact variety known for its striking golden-yellow leaves in spring, which transition to a lovely chartreuse by summer—this vibrant foliage is its standout feature. From June to July, it produces clusters of white flowers. This shrub typically reaches a height and width of 3 to 4 feet, making it perfect for smaller gardens and tight spaces. Since it blooms on old wood, any necessary pruning should be carried out immediately after the flowering period. In the fall, it showcases stunning red hues, and mature specimens exhibit peeling bark, adding visual interest during the winter months.

For optimal growth, plant it in full sun or partial shade within moist, well-drained soils rich in organic matter. It serves beautifully as a focal point, in foundation plantings, or as part of a shrub border. In regions with colder climates, it’s advisable to position it in a sheltered area.

For further details, refer to information on Hydrangea quercifolia.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Feature Summary

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Image Gallery

Tags

#showy flowers
#deciduous
#fall color
#full sun tolerant
#specimen
#white flowers
#shade tolerant
#deciduous shrub
#showy leaves
#summer flowers
#foundation planting
#exfoliating bark
#compact habit
#partial shade tolerant
#shrub borders

Similar Plants

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Feature Summary

Attributes
Cultivar of the native oakleaf hydrangea
Flowers
4-5 inch conical clusters of white flowers with pink tones consist mostly of sterile 4-petaled flowers. Blooms June- July
4-5 petals/rays
< 1 inch
Leaves
4-7 inch long oak-shaped leaves with 5 lobes and serrated margins in golden yellow maturing to chartreuse in summer. Fall color in reds.
Green
Gold/Yellow
Ovate
Palmasect
Lobed
Serrate
3-6 inches
3-6 inches
Bark
The bark peels with age
Poisonous to Humans
Nausea, vomiting, sweating, stomach pains
Hydrangin, a cyanogenic glycoside.
Leaves
Stems
Flowers
Whole Plant Traits
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Good Drainage
Moist
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
5b
5a
6a
6b
7a
7b
8b
8a
9a
9b
High Organic Matter
Landscape
Rain Garden
Asian Garden
Shade Garden
Border
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Accent
Specimen
Patio
Walkways
Small Space

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Attributes

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Country Or Region Of Origin

Cultivar of the native oakleaf hydrangea

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Life Cycle

Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Flowers

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Description

4-5 inch conical clusters of white flowers with pink tones consist mostly of sterile 4-petaled flowers. Blooms June- July

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Color

filter_vintage
White

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Inflorescence

Catkin
Corymb
Cyme
Head
Insignificant
Panicle
Raceme
Solitary
Spadix
Spike
Umbel

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Value To Gardener

Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Bloom Time

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Petals

2-3 rays/petals
4-5 petals/rays
6 petals/rays
7 - 20 petals/rays
asymmetrical petals
Bracts
Colored Sepals
fused petals
more than 20 petals/rays
Tepals

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Shape

Bell
Cross
Crown
Cup
Dome
Funnel
Irregular
Lipped
Radial
Saucer
Star
Trumpet
Tubular
Urn
Wheel

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Flower Size

1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Leaves

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Description

4-7 inch long oak-shaped leaves with 5 lobes and serrated margins in golden yellow maturing to chartreuse in summer. Fall color in reds.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Color

spa
Gold/Yellow
spa
Green

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Deciduous Leaf Fall Color

spa
Red/Burgundy

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Type

Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Arrangement

Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Shape

Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Margin

Crenate
Crenulate
Dentate
Denticulate
Doubly Crenate
Doubly Dentate
Doubly Serrate
Entire
Lobed
Serrate
Sinuate
Undulate

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Hairs Present

No
Yes

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Length

< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Value To Gardener

Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long-lasting
Showy

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Leaf Width

< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Bark

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Bark Description

The bark peels with age

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Surface/Attachment

Bumpy
Exfoliating
Fissured
Furrowed
Lenticels
Papery
Patchy
Peeling
Ridges
Scaly
Shaggy
Shiny
Shredding
Smooth
Spongy

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Poisonous to Humans

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Poison Symptoms

Nausea, vomiting, sweating, stomach pains

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Poison Toxic Principle

Hydrangin, a cyanogenic glycoside.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Poison Severity

High
Low
Medium

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Causes Contact Dermatitis

No
Yes

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Poison Part

Bark
Flowers
Fruits
Leaves
Roots
Sap/Juice
Seeds
Stems

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Whole Plant Traits

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Plant Type

Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Habit/Form

Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Growth Rate

Slow
Medium
Rapid

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Maintenance

Low
Medium
High

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Cultural Conditions

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Light

Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Soil Drainage

Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Available Space To Plant

12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': NC Region

Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

thermostat
5a
thermostat
5b
thermostat
6a
thermostat
6b
thermostat
7a
thermostat
7b
thermostat
8a
thermostat
8b
thermostat
9a
thermostat
9b

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Soil Texture

Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Shallow Rocky

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Stem

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Stem Is Aromatic

No
Yes

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' Landscape

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Landscape Theme

Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Design Feature

Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey': Landscape Location

Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland