Northern Red Oak

Quercus rubra

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