Oak varieties

[chbarnha]

I have 34 acres of mine own that I have planted a lot of trees on. Several varieties of crabs, pears and persimmons.... Chinese chestnuts and 5 different species of oak, 4 of which are hybrids from nativ nurseries. (Shuwillow, rainmaker, totten, and shuwaters). I have also planted both gobbler and standard varieties of sawtooths. That being said I want to add some more variety in my oaks. I have native southern reds, whites and willows. What 2-3 other varieties would you add? I’m mainly looking for the diversity and enjoy seeing the growth on trees year after year.


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[b116757]

Burgamble
English
Shumard
Anything that grows well in your local area and produces acorns heavily annually.

 

[The Fishman]

Where are you located? Location would help for making suggestions. What are your soil conditions? Are there wet areas, dry areas, etc.

 

[chbarnha]

Central va


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[g squared 23]

What kind of trees/browse are in the area surrounding your property?


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[chbarnha]

What kind of trees/browse are in the area surrounding your property?


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We are mostly pines with hardwoods mixed in. There is ag across the street, rotated between beans and corn. I also have two 1 acre food plots on my property. 25 of my acres are 10 year old clearcut with lots of blackberries and gums, pines and poplars mixed in.


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[OakSeeds]

I believe the "best" looking white oak is a swamp white oak with its deep green top-side leaf color and almost silvery white underneath side that almost shimmers in the wind. SWO's are also great in locations where they occasionally experience wet feet. For habitat /food, it's hard to beat an English oak or a good bur oak (both can be very heavy producers with great parentage). Another great habitat hybrid oak is the Bebbs oak which is a cross between a white oak and a bur oak. These are a few you apparently don't have on your property. Good luck .. all these will do well in your hardiness zone.

 

[momark]

Swamp Chestnut oak, hands down the best acorn for deer attraction (at least on my farm). Can tolerate wet areas but does ok in an upland setting.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Add me to the list of fans of the swamp chestnut (Quercus michauxii). I have a few established stands of them on my place, and when they're dropping heavy the deer and hogs love them. I also have live oaks and I love them for their looks (that said I'm pretty sure they're about close to 100 years old, if not older). They do get some visits from deer as well when dropping. Neither the swamp chestnut or live oak are quick to drop when young, though, so if you grow either it's certainly a long term investment.

Not sure how well they'd grow for you, but will share this. Friend from upstate South Carolina dug up some swamp chestnuts saplings from my place in North Florida, transplanted them, and a portion survived and are now about 12' tall (may have been a foot tall when planted).

Here's the natural range map for the swamp chestnut.



And here's one for live oak.

 

[Lucky_P]

Bur oak does the heavy lifting here in western KY. I've been collecting seedling and grafted specimens from across it's range, concentrating on large-acorn types and low-tannin selections. They start bearing by 10 yrs and bear heavily every year. They outproduce everything, including the SWOs. Bur oak acorns from trees in my collection have acorns that run anywhere from 100/lb to 6-8/lb(with caps removed)
Have a number of hybrids - Schuettes, Bebbs, Burenglish, Ooti, Chinkabur, SWOxOvercup , prinoidesXvirginiana...but most are still too young to give a good evaluation of how they'll compete with straight Bur oak for productivity.
There was only one bur oak on this place when we bought it, in '94. Southern red, Northern red, Pin, Cherrybark, and white oak predominate in the woods here.
AL state champion Swamp Chestnut Oak grew in the Saugahatchee Creek swamp on the farm I grew up on in Lee Co. Wanted a seedling of it here, but I couldn't find it the last time I looked after the farm sold in 2005, but a friend from MS sent me an acorn from one of hers, and I have it growing here; looking forward to it coming into production.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Add me to the list of fans of the swamp chestnut (Quercus michauxii). I have a few established stands of them on my place, and when they're dropping heavy the deer and hogs love them. I also have live oaks and I love them for their looks (that said I'm pretty sure they're about close to 100 years old, if not older). They do get some visits from deer as well when dropping. Neither the swamp chestnut or live oak are quick to drop when young, though, so if you grow either it's certainly a long term investment.

Not sure how well they'd grow for you, but will share this. Friend from upstate South Carolina dug up some swamp chestnuts saplings from my place in North Florida, transplanted them, and a portion survived and are now about 12' tall (may have been a foot tall when planted).

Here's the natural range map for the swamp chestnut.

View attachment 42679

And here's one for live oak.

View attachment 42680

Live oaks are heavy producers at an early age here in east texas......And I am in the "grey" color^^

bill

 

[b116757]

Swamp Chestnut oak, hands down the best acorn for deer attraction (at least on my farm). Can tolerate wet areas but does ok in an upland setting.

Man I hope so I planted 50 of them last spring

 

[bwoods11]

Swamp White Oak is hard to beat !

 

[TreesuitSC]

How about the Nuttal Oak?

Late drop acorn.

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[willy]

Swamp white oaks I planted 6 years ago as seedlings from mdc are 12' to 14' tall and had a few acorns on last year. The trunks are at least 5" diameter at base.

Soil is heavy clay and we average 30" +- of precipitation a year. Located in se NE.

They have amazed me.

I planted northern oak in '13 and many are 18' feet tall but have not produced acorns yet. Hoping they start soon but I like the growth.

 

[Teeder]

I'm a big fan of English, SWO, Bur oak hybrids, and a shumard x northern red hybrid (riparian oak).

 

[Angus 1895]

English oak, SWO both sprouted same week.

 

[Persimman]

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chbarna, I spend a lot of time generally near 'central va'. The past couple years the native willow oaks and live oaks have been the only producers. Tiny acorns, but the deer go after them. My research led me to plant several Nuttall oaks, in central Va and west of the blue ridge. No acorns yet, but the first few are almost big enough. Nuttalls are s'posed to bear soon, bear regularly, and drop late. and grow fast.

 

[chbarnha]

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chbarna, I spend a lot of time generally near 'central va'. The past couple years the native willow oaks and live oaks have been the only producers. Tiny acorns, but the deer go after them. My research led me to plant several Nuttall oaks, in central Va and west of the blue ridge. No acorns yet, but the first few are almost big enough. Nuttalls are s'posed to bear soon, bear regularly, and drop late. and grow fast.

I’m planning to add some nuttalls and shumards in the mix. I have a few native willows, some reds and some whites. Also thinking about adding some swamp chestnut.


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[b116757]

Last year I did 50 English and 50 SWO the SWO grew considerably faster than the English first year in the ground. One SWO very nearly made it to the top of a 60” tube and I ordered 6-12” trees. I’ve got 75 Nuttal and 50 Shumard in the ground this spring pretty early to say to much but they seem to be showing some growth already.