

Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Star - Oak-leaved Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Doughill’ Gatsby Star
Hortensia à feuilles de chêne
I will give you my opinion in about ten years when this magnificent plant reaches its maturity and acclimatization...
Henri, 07/04/2023
Home or relay delivery (depending on size and destination)
Schedule delivery date,
and select date in basket
This plant carries a 24 months recovery warranty
More information
We guarantee the quality of our plants for a full growing cycle, and will replace at our expense any plant that fails to recover under normal climatic and planting conditions.
Would this plant suit my garden?
Set up your Plantfit profile →
Description
The Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Star is an excellent garden bush, both decorative and easy to grow. Its large panicles of flowering, composed of double star-shaped sterile florets, offer a refined summer spectacle. Its lobed foliage, dark green in summer, turns to warm red and purple hues in autumn. With its graceful habit, it works wonderfully as a standalone feature, in a free hedge, or within partially shaded borders. Like all "oakleaf" hydrangeas, this variety is undemanding in terms of soil and climate. A must-discover!
The Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Star is a cultivar of the oakleaf hydrangea, belonging to the Hydrangeaceae family. This cultivar, registered under the name Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Doughill’ (USPP 25,412), was introduced as part of the "Gatsby" series, which highlights North American selections with spectacular flowering and decorative foliage. The botanical species Hydrangea quercifolia is native to the southeastern United States, where it grows naturally in wooded habitats, particularly on well-drained slopes, riverbanks, and rocky outcrops, from North Carolina to Louisiana. It is a deciduous bush, capable of living for several decades, often spreading through underground suckers, forming dense colonies.
The ‘Gatsby Star’ cultivar stands out from the species type with its double star-shaped flowers, featuring pointed petals. The bush develops conical panicles 15 to 30 cm long, composed of star-shaped sterile florets, which emerge pale green before opening into pure white, then take on rosy hues in autumn. This lightly fragrant flowering lasts from July to September and attracts butterflies and other pollinators. The leaves, deeply lobed and reminiscent of oak, measure between 10 and 30 cm in length. Dark green in summer, they turn burgundy and purple in autumn before falling. The stems feature cinnamon-brown bark that exfoliates with age. The root system is deep and spreading, giving this hydrangea some drought tolerance if planted in deep soil. In the ground, the Gatsby Star hydrangea reaches a height and spread of 1.80 m to 2 m. Its habit is rounded and slightly spreading.
The Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Star thrives in lightly sunny exposures that enhance its autumn colours. It prefers dappled light under tree canopies or even shade in hot climates. It can be used at the back of borders, as a standalone feature, in a free hedge, or within a shrub border. It pairs well with other Oakleaf Hydrangea - Hydrangea quercifolia, as well as with Nandina, Mexican orange blossom, Physocarpus, or even Cimicifuga, Actaea (silver candles), which, like this hydrangea, appreciate partial shade.
{$dispatch("open-modal-content", "#customer-report");}, text: "Please login to report the error." })' class="flex justify-end items-center gap-1 mt-8 mb-12 text-sm cursor-pointer" > Report an error about the product description
Plant habit
Flowering
Foliage
Botanical data
Hydrangea
quercifolia
‘Doughill’ Gatsby Star
Hydrangeaceae
Hortensia à feuilles de chêne
Cultivar or hybrid
Other Hydrangea Quercifolia
View all →Planting and care
The Hydrangea Gatsby Star requires a sunny position to enhance its autumn colours, but dislikes excessively scorching exposure: morning sun or shade from a large tree during the hottest hours is preferable, especially in our very sunny and warm regions. It prefers a humus-bearing, neutral to acidic soil, but tolerates limestone in the soil better than other hydrangeas after careful planting in a hole filled with a mixture of leaf compost and loam. When planting, place it in deeply worked soil. A good base fertiliser (such as dried horn or blood meal) will encourage the establishment of your young plant and nourish it without the risk of burning. If your soil tends to be very dry in summer, consider mulching around the base and creating a shallow watering basin.
Once well established, this Hydrangea can go entirely without watering in summer, except in our southern regions where it will appreciate weekly watering, or even fortnightly depending on the weather. The resumption of growth in spring is fairly late.
Planting period
Intended location
Care
-
, onOrder confirmed
Reply from on Promesse de fleurs
Haven't found what you were looking for?
Hardiness is the lowest winter temperature a plant can endure without suffering serious damage or even dying. However, hardiness is affected by location (a sheltered area, such as a patio), protection (winter cover) and soil type (hardiness is improved by well-drained soil).

Photo Sharing Terms & Conditions
In order to encourage gardeners to interact and share their experiences, Promesse de fleurs offers various media enabling content to be uploaded onto its Site - in particular via the ‘Photo sharing’ module.
The User agrees to refrain from:
- Posting any content that is illegal, prejudicial, insulting, racist, inciteful to hatred, revisionist, contrary to public decency, that infringes on privacy or on the privacy rights of third parties, in particular the publicity rights of persons and goods, intellectual property rights, or the right to privacy.
- Submitting content on behalf of a third party;
- Impersonate the identity of a third party and/or publish any personal information about a third party;
In general, the User undertakes to refrain from any unethical behaviour.
All Content (in particular text, comments, files, images, photos, videos, creative works, etc.), which may be subject to property or intellectual property rights, image or other private rights, shall remain the property of the User, subject to the limited rights granted by the terms of the licence granted by Promesse de fleurs as stated below. Users are at liberty to publish or not to publish such Content on the Site, notably via the ‘Photo Sharing’ facility, and accept that this Content shall be made public and freely accessible, notably on the Internet.
Users further acknowledge, undertake to have ,and guarantee that they hold all necessary rights and permissions to publish such material on the Site, in particular with regard to the legislation in force pertaining to any privacy, property, intellectual property, image, or contractual rights, or rights of any other nature. By publishing such Content on the Site, Users acknowledge accepting full liability as publishers of the Content within the meaning of the law, and grant Promesse de fleurs, free of charge, an inclusive, worldwide licence for the said Content for the entire duration of its publication, including all reproduction, representation, up/downloading, displaying, performing, transmission, and storage rights.
Users also grant permission for their name to be linked to the Content and accept that this link may not always be made available.
By engaging in posting material, Users consent to their Content becoming automatically accessible on the Internet, in particular on other sites and/or blogs and/or web pages of the Promesse de fleurs site, including in particular social pages and the Promesse de fleurs catalogue.
Users may secure the removal of entrusted content free of charge by issuing a simple request via our contact form.
The flowering period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions located in USDA zone 8 (France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, etc.)
It will vary according to where you live:
- In zones 9 to 10 (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), flowering will occur about 2 to 4 weeks earlier.
- In zones 6 to 7 (Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and lower mountainous regions), flowering will be delayed by 2 to 3 weeks.
- In zone 5 (Central Europe, Scandinavia), blooming will be delayed by 3 to 5 weeks.
In temperate climates, pruning of spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, spireas, etc.) should be done just after flowering.
Pruning of summer-flowering shrubs (Indian Lilac, Perovskia, etc.) can be done in winter or spring.
In cold regions as well as with frost-sensitive plants, avoid pruning too early when severe frosts may still occur.
The planting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions located in USDA zone 8 (France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands).
It will vary according to where you live:
- In Mediterranean zones (Marseille, Madrid, Milan, etc.), autumn and winter are the best planting periods.
- In continental zones (Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, etc.), delay planting by 2 to 3 weeks in spring and bring it forward by 2 to 4 weeks in autumn.
- In mountainous regions (the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, etc.), it is best to plant in late spring (May-June) or late summer (August-September).
The harvesting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions in USDA zone 8 (France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...) fruit and vegetable harvests are likely to be delayed by 3-4 weeks.
In warmer areas (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), harvesting will probably take place earlier, depending on weather conditions.
The sowing periods indicated on our website apply to countries and regions within USDA Zone 8 (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...), delay any outdoor sowing by 3-4 weeks, or sow under glass.
In warmer climes (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), bring outdoor sowing forward by a few weeks.