Skip to content
Tree · Fagaceae Draft — unreviewed

Southern live oak

Quercus virginiana Mill.

Also called southern live oak, live oak.

Iconic wide-spreading evergreen oak of the southern coast. Very wind-firm and salt-tolerant, it often grows far wider than tall.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 12–18 m (39–59 ft) tall and 18–30 m (59–98 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.

051015mPlanting3.4 × 1.5 mYear 39.5 × 13.4 mYear 1014.0 × 22.2 mMature15.0 × 24.0 m

Design notes

  • Allow at least 9 m from buildings; the canopy spread is the controlling dimension.
  • Sheds most leaves briefly in early spring as new ones emerge.
  • In the low desert it is planted as a shade tree but needs regular deep irrigation.

Regions

Native range: Southeastern Coastal Plain from Virginia to Florida and Texas.

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

Southeast

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)
Willow oak
Quercus phellos · Tree · 15–23 m (49–75 ft)
Northern red oak
Quercus rubra · Tree · 18–23 m (59–75 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 Southern live 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