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Northern Red Oak |
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Eastern Red Oak |
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Mountain Red Oak |
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Gray Oak |
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Oak |
Quercus rubra | Accepted |
Quercus borealis | Synonym |
Plant Habit: | Tree |
Life cycle: | Perennial |
Sun Requirements: | Full Sun Full Sun to Partial Shade |
Water Preferences: | Mesic Dry Mesic Dry |
Soil pH Preferences: | Strongly acid (5.1 – 5.5) Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0) Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5) Neutral (6.6 – 7.3) |
Minimum cold hardiness: | Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35) |
Maximum recommended zone: | Zone 8b |
Plant Height: | 60 - 80 feet |
Plant Spread: | 40 - 60 feet |
Leaves: | Good fall color Deciduous |
Fruit: | Edible to birds |
Fruiting Time: | Late summer or early fall |
Flower Color: | Yellow |
Bloom Size: | Under 1" |
Flower Time: | Spring |
Suitable Locations: | Street Tree |
Uses: | Shade Tree |
Edible Parts: | Fruit |
Dynamic Accumulator: | K (Potassium) |
Wildlife Attractant: | Birds |
Propagation: Seeds: | Sow in situ Seeds are hydrophilic |
Pollinators: | Wind |
Containers: | Not suitable for containers |
Miscellaneous: | Monoecious |
Conservation status: | Least Concern (LC) |
Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Dec 9, 2017 11:14 AM Northern Red Oak is one of the common climax forest trees, as it is the most tolerant oak in growing in shade when a young forest tree, in a large native range from southeast Canada & Nova Scotia down to southern Alabama to east Oklahoma up to northern Minnesota, widespread in many places. It is also one of the most common shade trees planted in landscapes in eastern North America and is offered by many nurseries. It grows about 1.5 to 2 feet/year and lives about 200 to 300 years. It is adaptable to many soils. It transplants easily as it does not develop a taproot. It bears one of the larger acorns for a member of the Black Oak subgroup that gets about 1.25 inches long that is loved by birds and mammals. It develops a good autumn color ranging from yellow to orange to red. It is a high quality plant that makes an excellent shade tree for landscapes. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by tx_flower_child (North Central TX - Zone 8a) on Aug 25, 2016 1:05 PM Red oaks are beautiful trees but are susceptible to the potentially fatal Oakwilt disease. A certified arborist should be knowledgeable regarding this disease. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by jathton (Oklahoma City, OK - Zone 7a) on Nov 21, 2019 10:03 PM Throughout my career I called myself a garden designer, But when I joined the staff of a terrific locally owned nursery in the 1990's I also became a "plant salesman." I became responsible for helping customers select as little as one new plant for their home landscape… and selling a tree to a customer became a special treat. [ Reply to this comment | |
Posted by robertduval14 (Mason, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Apr 19, 2013 2:37 PM New Jersey's state tree. [ Reply to this comment | |
AndreA33 | On November 18, 2016 | Seeds sown |
bzrhart | On May 7, 2017 | Obtained plant Obtained from local native-plant nursery in Cloquet. 10-gallon bucket, 8ft tall and eager to grow! |
jhugart | On May 5, 2020 | Plant emerged Noticed leaves emerging today. |
Thread Title | Last Reply | Replies |
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Beautiful! by vic | May 13, 2012 11:35 AM | 0 |
Name of Tree by bikeraljen | Oct 26, 2020 5:25 AM | 1 |
Quercus prinus - diseased or deciduous ? by yellowcake | Nov 29, 2020 11:25 AM | 6 |
Is this a young Northern Red Oak? by cinvasko | Jan 11, 2021 8:24 PM | 6 |
Name of Tree by bikeraljen | Oct 26, 2020 5:15 AM | 5 |
Unidentified sapling by JCRally | May 23, 2020 11:06 AM | 2 |
I don't know which oak species this is by henrisabatini | Dec 24, 2019 12:48 PM | 5 |
Is this a red oak? by mozart007 | Nov 13, 2019 5:30 PM | 9 |
Cuttings from Trees - Need Info by blue23rose | Nov 18, 2019 6:15 AM | 21 |
plant identification by Octothorpe | Jul 7, 2019 8:36 AM | 6 |
oak tree identification by sam153452 | Jun 26, 2019 4:53 PM | 7 |
Tree ID by Olives04 | Jun 6, 2019 8:42 AM | 3 |