Quercus rubra

• BOTANICAL NAME: Quercus rubra
• PRONUNCIATION: KWER-kus RU-bra
• COMMON NAME: Red Oak
• FAMILY: Fagaceae
• NATIVITY: Canada, eastern to midwestern U.S.
• GROWTH HABIT: Rounded, 60'-75' (100') tall x 40'-50' wide. Fast growth rate, up to 2' per year.
• HARDINESS: Zone 4-8
• CULTURE: Sandy loam, acid soils in full sun.
• LANDSCAPE USE: Sturdy street tree tolerant of urban pollution; develops chlorosis in high pH soils. Easy to transplant.
• FOLIAGE: Alternate, simple, 4"-8" long, 7-11 pointed lobes with shallow sinuses compared to Q. palustris and Q. coccinea. Emerge reddish, become dark-green in summer, turn variable reds in fall.
• BUDS: Chestnut-brown, 1/6" - 1/3", sharply pointed.
• BARK: Steel-gray with ridges and furrows, often mingled with flattened gray areas on the larger branches and main trunk.
• FRUIT: Nut (acorn) ¾" - 1" long with involucre (cup) covering about ¼ of nut.
• PROPAGATION: Seed; hybridizes freely.
• PESTS: Gypsy moth.
• CULTIVARS: