Black Oak
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Average mature size of 50-60' tall with a variable width, crown can be rounded or narrow. Moderate growth rate. Long lived.

Flower and Fruit Details

Flowers are pendulous yellow-green catkins, occurring in May. Fruits are elongated acorns, striated light red-brown, with a bowl-like cap enclosing a third to half of the total acorn, borne solitary or in pairs.

Leaf and Bark Features

Leaves are alternate, simple, with 7-9 pointed lobes, shiny dark green. Reddish-brown fall color. Bark is vertically deeply furrowed, almost black on the outside, inner bark is orange.

Culture and Care

Prefers moist, rich, well-drained soil, tolerates poor, dry, sandy conditions or heavy clay hillsides. Deep root system makes transplanting difficult. Zones 3-9. Susceptible to numerous insects and diseases, but they are rarely significant.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

Slow growing, difficult to transplant and establish, messy flowers. Oaks can hybridize freely within the same "group," and there are abundant hybrids evident in landscapes and the wild. For instance, red and black oak are associated together in the wild and hybrids frequently occur.

Suggested Uses

Use as a shade tree in large areas.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA