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Tree · Fagaceae Draft — unreviewed

Willow oak

Quercus phellos L.

Also called willow oak.

Fine-textured oak with narrow willow-like leaves; one of the most dependable large street and park trees in the Southeast. Small acorns and light litter.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 15–23 m (49–75 ft) tall and 10–15 m (33–49 ft) wide; medium growth, about 25 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the BB-2in install size.

05101520mPlanting3.4 × 1.5 mYear 311.6 × 7.3 mYear 1017.7 × 11.6 mMature19.0 × 12.5 m

Design notes

  • Transplants more easily than most oaks; tolerates heavy and wet soils.
  • Needs a large tree lawn — roots and trunk flare grow wide.

Regions

Native range: Southeastern and south-central U.S., north to New Jersey and southeastern New York.

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

NortheastSoutheast

Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.

Related plants

White oak
Quercus alba · Tree · 18–25 m (59–82 ft)
Pin oak
Quercus palustris · Tree · 15–21 m (49–69 ft)
Northern red oak
Quercus rubra · Tree · 18–23 m (59–75 ft)
Southern live oak
Quercus virginiana · Tree · 12–18 m (39–59 ft)
Emory oak
Quercus emoryi · Tree · 6–12 m (20–39 ft)
Red maple
Acer rubrum · Tree · 12–18 m (39–59 ft)

Plan with Willow oak

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

Start designing Try a sample garden