Quercus rubra - Northern Red Oak

Northern Red Oak is a native deciduous tree with a rounded to spreading irregular crown.  The lustrous dark green foliage with pointed lobes and pale undersides turn brownish-red in fall.  The acorns have saucer-shaped cups, but can take up to 40 years to produce an abundant crop.  Best grown in full sun and rich, sandy well-drained acidic soils.

Quercus rubra supports a wide variety of moths and butterflies, including: the Imperial Moth, Banded Hairstreak, Edward's Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, White-M Hairstreak, Horace’s Duskywing, and the Juvenal’s Duskywing. 

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Low Maintenance.  Susceptible to oak wilt, which has no cure, and chlorosis (yellowing of leaves) which occurs when soils are not acidic enough.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Naturalized Areas, Wildlife Gardens,  Privacy Screen, and Shade Tree.

COMPANION PLANTS: Crape Myrtle, Serviceberry, Magnolia

IMAGES:  Matthieu Sontag, Quercus rubra, CC BY-SA 3.0, (2) Bruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA, Quercus rubra (23571535243), CC BY 2.0, (3) Photo by Greg Gjerdingen, DSC03645, (4) Photo by Katja Schulz, Northern Red Oak, (5) Famartin, 2020-03-22 12 52 10 A Red Oak beginning to green up in early spring along Franklin Farm Road in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia, CC BY-SA 4.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown