One of the most handsome of the oaks, with shiny, willow-like leaves, and an attractive branching habit that casts medium shade in summer. Leaves turn yellow then red then brown in fall and persist through most of winter, making it useful pruned as a hedge.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows in a pyramidal shape when young, becoming rounded with maturity, reaching 50-60' tall.
 
Prefers 6+ hours of sun.
 
Best sited in average to dry soil. Tolerates drought and other adverse soil conditions, and walnuts.
 
Yellow-green flowers in April.
 
Attractive acorns precede yellow-red fall foliage.
 
Leaves persist through winter, so can be useful pruned as a hedge.
 
Wildlife value:
One of the most beneficial trees for wildlife is the oak tree. Oaks offer food, shelter, cover, and nesting sites for a number of animals. The branches, nooks, crannies, and hollow areas in oak trees afford protection from the elements, a place to rest, safety from predators, and nesting areas to raise young. Many animals feed on the small acorns, twigs, buds, shoots, and leaves of oaks.
 
Oak trees attract hundreds of insects and invertebrates that feed on their foliage. These insects, in turn, attract insectivorous birds, reptiles, frogs, and mammals developing a very dynamic food web within the forest. Because oak trees attract such a wide variety of insects, they are considered to be one of the most important trees for woodland dwelling birds. Caterpillars are of particular benefit to nesting birds and oak trees feed 477 species of lepidoptera in our area, including the retarded dagger moth.