Columnar Pin Oak?

[boardmaker]

Last year I had heard of a version of the columnars that was a Red Oak. Green Pillar Pin Oak(PrinGreen) was its name.

Earlier today, I noticed these columnar shaped Reds as landscaping for a parking lot. The parking lot is only a year old so these haven’t been here long. I decided to turn around and get a closer look.

They are around 24” or less in total diameter. Probably around 9-10’ tall. I was impressed with the amount of acorns although they are a little small.

I’m always looking for diversity. And I’m going to pay close attention to these trees to see how long they hold their leaves. I’ve been looking for a columnar Red Oak variety to complement the columnar White Oak(Regal Prince) I plan on planting this coming spring. My end goal is several screens through the property that also have a food benefit.

I’m hoping the acorns retain similar characteristics to these hybrid trees. The next closest Red Oaks are several hundred yards away. Does that mean these trees most likely pollinated each other? There’s about 6-8 of these columnar Pin Oaks along this side of the parking lot. Would that give a better chance of the acorn having columnar characteristics?

 

[Lucky_P]

No telling 'til you grow out some of those acorns and see if the columnar trait holds.
Those parking lot trees will probably need pruning at some point (wink, wink)... you could snip a few budsticks here and there that are crossing, out of place, etc., and graft onto any seedlings that look like they're not going to be columnar. Long-term graft compatibility will be better on their own seedlings than on any random red/black oak seedlings.