An oak often used in woodlands. Its crown is irregular with main branches growing horizontally. In the crown the main trunk continues to grow strongly forked. The grey bark remains smooth for a long time but later thin, dark grey bark plates appear. The young twigs are bare and glossy reddish-brown. The leaves are oval to obovate. The leaf edge has irregular and sharply serrated lobes, sometimes halfway incised (pinnate split). The leaves are 12 - 22 cm long, on young twigs up to 25 cm, and 10 - 15 cm wide. Depending on the amount of sun and the temperature the tree turns orange-red to scarlet in the autumn. Fallen leaves rot very slowly. The cylindrical flattened acorns are covered to a maximum of one quarter by the cupule: the latter is covered with small, triangular, contiguous scales. Q. rubra is a major producer of timber.
Our trees can only be planted when they don't have any leaves. Due to the this we will start delivering again from November 2024.
grey, stays glossy for a long time, twigs reddish-brown
Leaf
oval, deeply pinnately lobed, green, 12 - 22 cm
Autumn colour
orange, red
Flowers
golden-yellow, ♂ catkins, 5 - 8 cm long, May
Fruits
broad ovoid acorn, 2 - 2.5 cm
Spines/thorns
None
Toxicity
usually not toxic to people, (large) pets and livestock
Soil type
all, makes few demands
Paving
tolerates no paving
Winter hardiness zone
5a (-28,8 to -26,1 °C)
Wind resistance
good
Other resistances
resistant to frost (WH 1 - 6), can withstand wind, resistant to de-icing salt
Fauna tree
provides food for birds
Application
avenues and broad streets, industrial areas
Shape
clearstem tree, multi-stem treem, pollard
Origin
eastern and central part of North America
Synonyms
Quercus borealis, Quercus borealis var. maxima
Clear stem treeMulti-stem treePollardacid soilclay soilloamy soilnutrient-poor soilpeaty soilsandy soiltolerates no pavingresistant to de-icing saltresistant to frost (WH 1 - 6)can withstand wind1st size , taller than 12 metreshalf-open crowngreenyellowfast growingAttractive autumn colourprovides food for birdsnon-toxic (usually)
Frequently asked questions
Quercus rubra
Quercus rubra can eventually reach a height of 20 - 25 (30) m, fast growing, depending on the site and climate conditions.
Quercus rubra is fast growing and can eventually reach a height of 20 - 25 (30) m, fast growing, depending on the site and climate conditions.
The leaves of Quercus rubra turn orange, red in autumn.
The right time to plant Quercus rubra is during the dormancy period. In Western Europe, Quercus rubra with root balls can generally be planted from mid-November to late April, although this depends strongly on the climatic conditions and the species of tree.