Large native trees are excellent choices for shade trees on your lawn, background trees in larger gardens, or for adding to natural or undeveloped areas as sources of nesting sites and food for wildlife. Black Oak is an attractive native tree that grows naturally across a large part of the country, in a wide variety of climates. Its main features are its impressive, large, glossy leaves, with the typical ‘oak leaf’ profile, attractive spring growth covered in a fine brown felt and a splendid display of yellow, red and brown foliage in fall.
The Black Oak tree is a great choice for poor, dry soils and open sunny locations and makes an attractive shade tree for a larger lawn. Black Oak can also be planted as a screening tree and is an impressive way to mark the boundary of your property, giving screening and protection from wind and noise. We constantly receive new stock, so that our customers receive only the best, but supplies of this beautiful native tree can be limited, so order your Black Oak now and enjoy centuries of natural beauty.
Growing Black Oak Trees
Oak trees are always seen as symbols of permanence and longevity, so an Oak on your property says you are there to stay, that this is your family home and where you put down roots. When moving into a new home, planting any tree is a great thing to do, and planting a Black Oak says that permanence and durability are high on your list. What better way to start a real home than planting an oak tree in your yard. Many people today want to grow native trees – and the Black Oak is an outstanding all-American tree that you will love having on your property.
Benefits For Local Wildlife
Older Black Oak begins to produce crops of acorns once they are semi-mature and especially heavy crops are produced every two or three years. The acorns are about ¾ of an inch long and are eaten by lots of different wildlife, from deer and squirrels to wild turkey, grouse and other birds. Wild boars also eat acorns. So planting these trees in wooded areas can provide important valuable food to increase local wild-life populations. In the past a yellow dye was made from the inner bark and the lumber can be used for everything from furniture and flooring to railway ties and fence posts.
Our trees are carefully grown from acorns selected from the best and healthiest specimens, so they will grow into sturdy, long-lived trees. They have been grown in containers since they were seedlings, and cannot be compared with cheaper, field-grown trees that are often difficult to plant successfully.
Black Oak grows well in any average soil, but does best in acidic soils and not on limestone and very alkaline soils. Although it likes some moisture, especially when young, it will be happy in drier soils once it is established, and it is drought resistant too. So this is a tree that is very suitable for poor, dry soils.
It should be planted in full sun for the best growth. Choose a location that allows enough room for its final size – this is a tree that is going to be around for a long time. Once planted Black Oak is hard to transplant, as the tap-root grows very deep, so think carefully before planting and be sure you have the right location.
Pests and Diseases
Although, like all Oak trees, it can have some pests and diseases, these rarely occur or they cause minimal damage, so you are very unlikely to have any serious problems with this tree. Pruning is not necessary either, so this is a great low-maintenance tree for the outer parts of your property, where it will happily take care of itself and grow into a beautiful specimen.
History and Origins of the Black Oak
Black Oak (Quercus velutina) grows naturally from Maine to Texas, and west as far as Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. It will also grow in gardens further west, if conditions are suitable. In the north of its range it reaches heights of about 60 feet, but it becomes taller in the south, with record trees over 130 feet tall. So this is a tree for planting in larger gardens, where it can have room to fully develop. It shares with most other oaks the ability to live for centuries.
Black Oak is related to Red Oak, another easily-grown oak tree, but Black Oak is more heat-resistant. Black Oak has large leaves that can be 10 inches long, making this tree a striking garden feature. The leaves are an attractive glossy green, divided into up to 9 deep lobes, each ending in a fine bristle. The leaves turn attractive shades of yellow, yellow-brown and red in fall, adding to the fall display along with other deciduous trees. In spring the new growth is covered in a dense mat of soft, brown short hairs, given an interesting look to the tree and distinguishing it from other native oaks.