Quercus Species, Eastern Red Oak, Gray Oak, Mountain Red Oak, Northern Red Oak

The Northern Red Oak is a very valuable tree here in the Eastern US. A forest with a good mix of mature Red Oak and White Oak is an impre...Read Moressive view. The Northern Red Oak provides winter food for many species of wildlife unlike the White Oak whose acorn germinates quickly and is usually consumed shortly after dropping.
The Red Oak generally retains a high timber value and the wood has many applications. I talked to a lumberman in Somerset County, PA who said he once harvested a premier stand of Red Oak where the interior wood was a strong pink color. The lumberman attributed the color to the soil the Oaks were growing in.
I have gathered seed to germinate from an incredible specimen tree, with an enormous, limbless bole and no visible blemish. I chose this tree for it's genetic traits I am trying to spread.
This particular Red Oak, included in the photo gallery, has escaped the saw to date and is truly magnificent to look up at in the forest setting.

It is a common upland forest tree in the Midwest and East US and it is commonly planted in landscapes as it is fairly fast growing of abo...Read Moreut 2 ft/yr and does not develop a taproot. Unlike the similar Pin Oak, it grows in slightly alkaline soils besides acid soils and is more adaptable. A handsome, wind-firm tree with good bronze-orange to red fall color.

This eventually becomes a majestic shade tree to 70' tall---one of the very best, and one that should be planted much more often. Its spe...Read Moreed of growth is about average for a shade tree---to 2' a year under good conditions. Planted with others of its kind spaced 50' apart, it can form magnificent, cathedral-like spaces. Much preferable to the more frequently planted pin oak.

It's also one of the few large trees whose roots won't interfere with the gardener's desire to grow plants in its shade. An excellent tree for a shade garden. You can even grow decent lawn under its canopy.

Dirr says it's hardy from Z3b to 7(8).

Native to North America in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada. It grows from the north end of the Great Lakes, east to N...Read Moreova Scotia, south as far as Georgia and states with good soil that is slightly acidic.

Beautiful red leaves in autumn. The acorns are extremely important wildlife food and are the primary overwintering food for a great many species of birds and mammals.
Mammals such as white-tailed deer, elk, moose, cottontail rabbits and hares partake of the leaves. The acorns afford a source of nutrition for the eastern chipmunk, white-footed mouse, white-tailed deer, flying squirrel, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, black bear and deer mouse, according to the National Forest Service. Northern red oak's acorns are edible by the northern bobwhite, white-breasted nuthatch, eastern crow and wild turkey, as well as many other bird species. It's the crown jewel of any wildlife garden.