Contorted Fig, Oakleaf hydrangea

I haven't succeeded in propagating these. Has anyone out there have any successes to report?

Esther,
I have filled my yard with propagated oak leaf hydrangea, starting with just one a few years ago. All I did was cut the end of the longest stems off and strip the leaves off the bottom 6 inches and stick them in my coldframe anytime after the blooms were gone. It takes a while for the roots to develope but the cuttings ususally don't rot or die. In a few months, you should be able to pull on them and see that they have roots. THen I waited until early spring to transplant them out in the yard. Of course, I am in 7B so you may have to wait until it is warmer to transplant them and maybe even keep the cuttings inside instead of a cold frame . Hope this helps you out. Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl, this gives me incentive to try again. My propagation methods are usually haphazard, and I am astounded when I do succeed. But I want to be serious about getting some more of these plants.

I have a HUGE H. quercifolia in our sideyard (It's easily 10' tall x 8-10' wide) It puts out new shoots near the base every year, and where they touch the soil they root. If yours isn't doing that, you can always help it along by bending down some branches to the soil and anchoring them. I've had good success in severing the rooted branch and then allowing it remain where it is for several days, then digging it up and potting it up.

Otherwise, I've found that that when I immediately dig and pot it up, I need to watch the cutting very carefully for transpiration problems - those big ole leaves can cause big stress for the new plant until it's better established and sending out new feeder roots.

Every year I'm getting a little better at this; the first year I killed all that I tried to pot up. I think one trick - barring a cold frame or other form of propagation chamber - is to strip the biggest leaves off when you pot it up. It'll put out new ones later on in the season, and the plant isn't as stressed out trying to keep water flowing to those leaves.