Chestnut Oak (Basket Oak, Rock Oak, Rock Chestnut Oak)
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Average mature size of 60-70' tall and wider, irregular spread. Pyramidal, oval to rounded in youth, then rounded and relatively dense. Growth rate of 12-15' over a 7-10 year period.

Native Range

Southern Maine, Ontario to South Carolina and Alabama. Cultivated 1688.

Flower and Fruit Details

Flowers are pendulous yellow-green catkins. Fruits are ovoid acorns in pairs, dark rich brown, 1-1.25" long, tuberculate cap covers a third of the nut. Sweet tasting, but all oak acorns contain poisonous tannins that need to be boiled out before consuming.

Leaf and Bark Features

Leaves are lustrous, dark yellow-green. Orange-yellow to yellowish-brown fall color. Bark is brown to nearly black. On older trees becomes deeply furrowed. Rich in tannin content: 11%.

Culture and Care

Prefers moist well-drained, but also found in rocky, poor, dry soil. No seed pretreatment necessary, and easy to transplant compared to most oaks. Zones 4-8.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

A very lovely, good landscape tree. Auburn trials showed this to be a superior species in 13-year trials.

Suggested Uses

Suitable for parking lot islands.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA