Pin Oak
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Average mature size of 60-70' tall and 25-40' wide, can reach over 100' tall in optimal conditions. Strongly pyramidal in youth, becoming an oval-pyramidal form as it ages. One of the faster growing oaks, 12-15' over a 5-7 year period. Medium lifespan, maturity reached between 125 and 175 years.

Native Range

Kentucky Native — Massachusetts to Delaware, west to Wisconsin and Arkansas. Introduced before 1770.

Flower and Fruit Details

Flowers are monoecious, male in pale yellow-green catkins, females reddish-green borne on short spikes in new leaf axils, occurring in May. Fruits are nearly hemispherical acorns, 0.5" high, 0.66-0.75" wide, light brown, often striate, enclosed only at basal 0.25-0.33" in a thin, saucer-like cap, mature in second year, sessile to short-stalked, solitary or clustered.

Leaf and Bark Features

Variable russet, bronze or red fall color. Bark is thin, grayish-brown, smooth in youth. With age it develops narrow, relatively shallow ridges and furrows.

Culture and Care

Readily transplanted because of shallow, fibrous root system. Prefers full sun, moist, rich, acid, well-drained soil. Tolerant of wet soils, and found in the wild on wet clay flats where water may stand for several weeks. Intolerant of high pH. Zones 4-8. Galls are often a problem; iron chlorosis can be serious on high pH soils.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

Good, interesting habit. Correcting chlorosis on high pH (alkaline) soils can be costly and "painful for the homeowner."

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA