ZONE:
4
COLOUR:
Green
HEIGHT:
16-22 m
SPREAD:
15-20 m
- 905-628-0112
Quercus rubra - Red Oak - Fall Colour
Quercus rubra - Red Oak - Fall Colour - Photo courtesy of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.
Quercus rubra - Red Oak - Photo courtesy of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.
Quercus rubra - Red Oak - Leaves Emerging in Spring
ZONE:
4
COLOUR:
Green
HEIGHT:
16-22 m
SPREAD:
15-20 m
A slow-growing large specimen shade tree at maturity, it needs a large space in which to grow.
Do not prune Oaks during the growing season. Oaks are highly susceptible to Oak Wilt, which is spread by a sap beetle that is attracted to fresh wounds. Prune oaks only during the dormant season in winter after the leaves have fallen. Oak Wilt can kill a mature Oak within one season.
Native to Ontario and parts of North America.
(Native) Oaks, according to Doug Tallamy, support 534 species of lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) caterpillars– more than any other native tree or plant.
While the flowers are wind-pollinated, a tree cannot pollinate itself. However, they can cross-pollinate with other trees in the Red Oak subgenus. The pollinated ovules remain dormant for about a year; fertilization and subsequent nut production does not occur until a year after pollination. In the wild, the nuts feed many species of birds, as well as large and small mammals, from blue jays to black bears.
