Smooth Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Found in forests, especially around rock outcrops and along streambanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 3–5 feet
- Spread
- 3–5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 4 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 6 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Spring and summer
Recorded in 57 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 98 animals.
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Hydrangea
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Darapsa versicolorHydrangea Sphinx
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Gandaritis atricolorataDark-Banded Geometer
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Olethreutes ferriferanaHydrangea Leaftier
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
17BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Hydrangea
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimBeetles 4
- Euderces picipes
- Mordellistena ornata
- Mordellistena pubescens
- Typocerus velutinus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 6
- Archytas analis
- Eristalis tenax
- Graphomyia americana
- Musca domestica
- Sphaerophoria cylindrica
- Syrphus americanus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 1
- Harrisina americana
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Cream, green, pink or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring and summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition differs)
- Flower color · “Cream, green, pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Wild Hydrangea
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications