# Silverleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata) > White lacecap flowers from May into July over leaves that flash silver in the wind, on a woodland shrub of the southern Blue Ridge. Also called snowy hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens subsp. radiata. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/silverleaf-hydrangea/ ![Silverleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata) flat head of small flowers ringed by white sterile flowers](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/silverleaf-hydrangea-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASaxifragaceae_-_Hydrangea_arborescens_subs._radiata-001.JPG)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 3 to 6 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 9 - Grows wild in: The Appalachians, rich moist slopes and rocky ground - Native range: Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee - Sun: Part, Shade - Soil moisture: Average - Growth rate: Fast - Traits: Showy flowers, Tolerates shade, Wildlife value - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Silverleaf hydrangea is a close relative of smooth hydrangea with two features of its own. Its leaves are felted silvery white beneath, which is unusual in the genus, and most heads carry a ring of large sterile flowers. The Carolina botanist Thomas Walter named it in 1788, after that ring of flowers. Mass it along a shaded woodland path or on a cool slope, where the leaves catch the light. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its speed. Our growth estimator gives it the fast class, since its close relative, smooth hydrangea, grows rapidly. It makes an open, rounded shrub 3 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, with many unbranched stems and shreddy bark. Domed heads 3 to 6 inches across open from May into July. Each holds 200 to 500 tiny fertile flowers ringed by a few large white sterile ones. Bees, butterflies and other pollinators visit them. In fall the dying leaves curl up and show their white undersides. It grows wild only where North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee meet, and it is often common on road banks there. Its home is moist deciduous forests, ravines, rocky slopes and cliffs, from about 650 to 3,900 feet up. ## How to grow Silverleaf Hydrangea Silverleaf hydrangea wants part shade to full shade and a moist, rich, acid soil that drains well. The more sun it gets, the more water it needs. It takes heat and drought less well than smooth hydrangea. Plant it 3 feet from a wall and set plants 4 feet apart in a mass. Its size lets it go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep a mulch of leaves over the roots, clear of the stems. The seed is dust-fine and needs no chilling. Sow it indoors on the surface of moist seed mix, uncovered, under lights. Seedlings come up in one to two weeks. Water weekly through the first two summers and in every dry spell after that. It flowers on new wood, so cut the stems back close to the ground in late winter to renew the plant. Where deer visit, cage young plants for the first two winters. Each small inner flower carries both male and female parts, while the large white outer flowers are sterile. Silverleaf hydrangea's close relative, smooth hydrangea, sets no viable seed with its own pollen, so plant two or more seedlings from different parents if you want seed. Dry, ribbed capsules follow in October and November and hold seed as fine as dust. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 12: Hydrangea radiata, C. C. Freeman](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250101965) - [Flora of North America, vol. 12: Hydrangeaceae](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10425) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Hydrangea radiata](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hydrangea-radiata/) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Hydrangea arborescens](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hydrangea-arborescens/) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Hydrangea radiata, J. Sutton 2025](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/hydrangea/hydrangea-radiata/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Hydrangea radiata](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HYRA6) - [Native Plant Network, K. M. Davis and J. Kujawski, USDA NRCS National Plant Materials Center, 2001: Hydrangea arborescens seed protocol](https://npn.rngr.net/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=hydrangeaceae-hydrangea-1048) - [NatureServe Explorer: Hydrangea radiata](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161640/Hydrangea_radiata) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Silverleaf Hydrangea, add ?species=silverleaf-hydrangea with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=silverleaf-hydrangea&zone=3&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Silverleaf Hydrangea](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=silverleaf-hydrangea): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=silverleaf-hydrangea - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Silverleaf Hydrangea is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=silverleaf-hydrangea - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Silverleaf Hydrangea needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=silverleaf-hydrangea:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Silverleaf Hydrangea flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.