Quercus phellos
What would you make if you could hybridize an oak and a willow ? The willow tree oak !
Not truly a hybrid of the two , it ’s an oak tree through and through , complete with acorns . But you might misidentify the minute leaves for those of a willow .
willow tree oak tree is a darling of wildlife , making all kinds of raspberry , as well as squirrels and other herbivore , extremely felicitous .
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Watching the chipmunks and squirrels collect the nuts for storage has to be one of my favourite thing to do in the declivity .
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This is n’t your mother ’s oak tree , though . Well , unless your mother grew one of these .
Editorial Credit: Marinodenisenko / Shutterstock.com
There are many cultivars that have an unsloped , narrow growth habit that make them perfect for parking strip and lots , and planting nigher to home than you might be able to put a tree otherwise .
They ’re sluttish to grow and more immune to problems than some other mintage in theQuercusgenus , as well .
Let ’s talk all things willow oak . Here ’s the lineup of what we ’ll talk over in this guide :
What You’ll Learn
If you ’d like a rundown of all the pro and cons of willow tree oak tree , please visit our guide ( coming soon ! ) .
quick to get develop ? Let ’s dive in .
Cultivation and History
The willow oak also goes by the names pin , peach , and swamp chestnut oak tree .
“ Quercus”is the Romance word for oak and “ phellos ” is Latin for cork , a reference to the texture of the bark of older specimen .
But do n’t obscure it withQ. suber , which has the vulgar name “ bobfloat oak tree . ” The latter is aboriginal to Europe and is used to make the bob you know and love for making boards and sealing wine-coloured bottle .
Willow oak are , as you probably guessed , part of the oak family .
This coinage is in there d oak groupand grows indigenously across the southeastern US and up the easterly seaboard as far northward as New Jersey and as far in the south as northerly Florida , and to the Rebecca West across Texas and Oklahoma .
It ’s also grown across the US inUSDA Hardiness Zones5 to 9 as an ornamental .
Willow oaks are an important source of food for wildlife . They grow best in moist positioning like low - lying areas , near streams or irrigation ditches , or on the sharpness of swamp or lake .
When mature , they can reach over 100 animal foot tall and one-half as wide , but most stay put about half that size . Larger specimen are rare but not impossible – one in Tennessee measured 123 feet marvelous and 100 feet wide !
This metal money does best below about 1,500 groundwork in altitude .
The leaves are smooth , narrow , alternate , and green , with a single bristle at the tip . That little bristle is how you may easily determine that it ’s a part of the red oak group .
The leaves typically originate about four to five inch retentive and an in wide . Light green in the spring , they shift to medium common in the summertime .
During the saltation , as the leaf are emerging , foresightful dark-green - yellow , wind - pollinated ament form . These plants are monoicous , mean they have both distaff and male part on each tree .
In the declivity , the leaves work golden yellow or brownish - yellow . Unlike those of oarlock oaks , they do n’t persist on the tree until bounce , but rapidly omit all at once in the fall , urinate cleanup easier .
The acorn , which take two long time to mature , are some of the small in the genus and most fail to grow even to half an inch in duration .
Despite their midget size , the willow tree oak is a vigorous manufacturer , which means there are mature acorns available every year , with some on each tree diagram senesce in alternate years for a perpetual annual harvest .
vernal specimens have white-haired bark , which turns dark grey - brownish with age and develops mysterious furrows .
The young seedlings can grow rapidly , up to five foot in two geezerhood . From there , this species has a moderate growth rate , slowing down to about a foot per year .
Willow Oak Propagation
Whether you grease one’s palms a young plant life at a nursery or you need to plant an acorn you find , there are several ways to add this works to your human race .
From Seed
Because willow tree oaks readily hybridize in the wild so propagating seed is unreliable , we do n’t recommend this method acting . But we ’ll provide you with the outline of what ’s required in character it ’s something you ’re concerned in .
The seeds should be moth-eaten stratify at 33 to 40 ° atomic number 9 for three months before you plant . The sluttish way of doing this is to put them in moistened sphagnum moss in the icebox . Remove the caps from the acorns first , if they ’re still attached .
In the spring , when the day are consistently above freeze , cook a seedbed with lots of well - rotted compost and industrial plant each acorn .
Sink each seed about two inches deep and place three or four in each expanse to ascertain at least one germinates .
The seed can be planted about two foot aside if you design to transplant some of the seedlings , or at least 20 feet apart if you signify to impart them in place .
incubate the area with an inch or so of leaf litter . Keep the soil moist but not wet . If multiple seed germinate in one spot , pull the little seedlings .
From Cuttings
True willow tree ( Salixspp.)cuttings are exceptionally easygoing to root . Oak willow tree is n’t quite so gentle . Consider it a five on a scale of one to 10 .
Before you start cutting , sour in some well - rotted compost in the area where you need to plant your new willow oak .
make a hole in the soil a few inches deep using a pencil or chopstick . Create another hole or two a few in away .
take care for flexible , pencil - sized ramification in the spring . Cut a six- to nine - column inch - tenacious piece at a 45 - degree slant , right on below a foliage leaf node , and remove all but one or two leaf at tip .
Take several cuttings for each tree diagram you desire to grow .
Bontone II Rooting Powder
Dip the cut ends in a take root hormone like Bontone II Rooting Powder , which you could pick up at Arbico Organicsin a one - and - a - quarter - ounce container .
Place a cutting in the hole you made and firm the soil up around it . continue with several more nearby . You require to place about three cuttings in each spot , assuming that one will come through .
Water the soil well and firm it up again if it loosens and causes the cutting to sink or tip .
Keep the soil moist as the cutting develops . There ’s no need to do anything but keep the grime moist until you start to see new ontogenesis modernize .
If multiple newspaper clipping in the same area start growing new farewell , gently pull in all but the strongest one , taking care not to disturb the root of the remaining cutting .
Heap rafts ofstrawor leaf mulch around the cutting to protect it during the winter and remove the protective bed in the outpouring when new ontogenesis start out .
Beginning the next twelvemonth , you’re able to treat the plant as you would any other sapling .
Transplanting
The best prison term to transplant is in the late fall , wintertime , or early spring , when the willow tree oak are torpid . Willow oaks have a fibrous source system that lend itself well to transplanting .
First , prepare the region by working in lots ofwell - decompose compostand hollow a hole doubly as across-the-board and the same astuteness as the container your plant come in .
Gently remove the child from the container and loosen up the roots . Lower it down into the trap and fill in around it with a compost and soil commixture .
Water well and fill in with more ground if it fall .
You want the plant to be sitting at the same stratum that it was in the produce medium , with just the root flare where the root testis begins above the land .
Keep the soil moist to support the tree as it becomes established .
How to Grow Willow Oaks
This is a fairly fast - growing tree diagram , but not so tight that the wood is debile and pronto falls apart in the tenuous duck soup .
If you plant yours in fertile , moist soil , it will grow much larger and faster than it would otherwise , but it can still be a robust , large specimen in less - than - ideal status .
wet lovers , saplings will come through up to three months of saturated territory , so if you survive somewhere with soggy wintertime , they will outlive where other plants may fail .
fledged willow oak can even tolerate up to three days of muddy , blind drunk roots .
On the other close of the spectrum , willow tree oaks will flourish in area with occasional drought - like shape once instal .
Note that passable wet is particularly important for vernal plant , but overwatering can slow ontogenesis .
Aim to keep the soil moist around young plant life and then only water established plants during periods of drouth .
Q. phellosrequires acidic dirt with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 and full Sunday . It can tolerate clay grime , puddle it a good option if you have heavy earth . It ’s also tolerant of defilement .
At about 15 to 20 years after planting , the tree will be mature enough to raise acorns , which is much unseasoned than most oak .
It ’s possible for a late freeze to defoliate the willow oak and kill any blossom .
The tree will recover and grow a 2nd curing of leaves , but it wo n’t develop a 2nd round of ament . That intend no mess of acorns .
There ’s no pauperization to feed your willow oak tree unless a soil test reveals a deficiency . You do anannual grime trial , correct ?
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
It ’s important to prune young willow oaks to promote a sound , sturdy central leader .
That mean you want a single , main bole that proceed all the way up the center of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , rather than several short pants as the canopy exposit .
When you first plant your willow oak tree , trim off any competing trunk so you have one hard , main automobile trunk . Cut the vie tree trunk off at the foot using a distich of pruners or a saw .
From there , it ’s a topic of upkeep . When the tree is young , you’re able to remove any crossroad or rubbing branches to create frame and open up the canopy .
As it gets older , it will probably be too large for you to do this , but sense free to break out a tree saw if you see a trouble or consult a professional arborist .
Otherwise , take away any broken , pathological , discredited , or dead branches as you see them .
Willow Oak Cultivars and Hybrids to Select
Depending on where you survive , you might only be able to find the species . But there ’s nothing wrong with that – the species is incredible !
Willow Oak
If you want one of the stock willow oaks , visit Fast farm Treesfor a four- to five- , five- to six- , or six- to seven - invertebrate foot live specimen .
If you ’re interested in some of the cultivars that have been educate in recent years , here are some excellent options :
High Tower
Q. phellos‘Qpsta ’ can stretch up to 65 foot tall and 45 across-the-board . The foliation is glum immature than the species .
It has pull in a reputation as the idealistic landscaping tree near roadways and edifice because it develops a hard primal leader course , and the branches grow up rather than out , leaving roadstead and paseo clear for traffic .
The leaves turn brilliantly yellow in the fall . The only downside is that it ’s slightly less stalwart than the species , suitable for zone 6 to 9 .
Kingpin
‘ Greenenvy , ’ also bed as Kingpin ® , was breed by grower Sam Rogers at Bold Spring Nursery in Hawkinsville , Georgia .
Its foliage is dramatically darker than the coinage and the growth is more upright , with a spectacular central loss leader .
Pillow
‘ Pillow ’ or pinkish - willow oak ( Q.xschociana ) is a intercrossed cross betweenQ. palustrisandQ. phellos .
It was found in a German nursery where it was cultivate by Hofgartner Schoch and named by botanist George Dieck in 1887 , in honour of its stock breeder .
It grows to about 50 foot tall with a round crown and much showier , undimmed red nightfall foliage than the willow tree coinage . young leaves in leaping come forth with a hint of garden pink .
Upperton
tight - growing , with a solid key leader and an just growth habit , Upperton ® ( Q. phellos‘RT3 ’ ) is perfect for parking lashings , spaces next to buildings , and area along roadway .
It was cultivated by Georgia grower Ray Tate after he took a cutting off of a promising specimen with prolific , uniform branching that was locate in a parking pile island .
When mature it maturate 60 feet tall and 40 ft wide and is hardy in Zones 6 to 9 .
Wynstar
‘ Wynstar ’ or ‘ QPMTF ’ has rusty orangish leaf in the crepuscle , make the mature 80 - infantry tree a spectacular focal point .
It has a more undifferentiated and upright growth riding habit than the specie .
Managing Pests and Disease
Deer will fee on young plants , but once the willow oaks grow large enough , these critters will brush aside them .
To learn how to protect your plants until they ’re sure-enough enough to be secure , check out out our template to manage deer .
Willow oak are super susceptible to acid rain with a pH below 3.2 . If you have young trees , protect them during violent storm and souse the soil afterwards to blush it .
Hogs are extremely fond of the fallen acorn , but they wo n’t mostly rile a fledged specimen .
Insects
In worldwide , pests wo n’t dramatically injure a fledged tree diagram . They ’re more of a nuisance that can cause unsightliness . But young trees can sometimes be kill .
as luck would have it , pestilence are rarefied on willow oaks . Just in typeface you fall out to encounter an issue , here are the ace to watch for :
Borers are usually only troublesome on stressed , unseasoned , or sickly trees .
Red oak borers ( Enaphalodes rufulus ) , living beech stone drill ( Goes pulverulentus ) , and carpenterworm borers ( Prionoxystus robiniae ) might infestQ. phellos , as well as some other coinage , depending on where you live . They ’re vulgar in eastern North America .
Most species lay eggs in the bark of trees in the fall where they overwinter , emerging as larvae in the spring .
Once they mature the adult beetles chew their style out of the trunk , provide behind detectable hollow , and the life cycle stay on .
The holes are low than those leave behind by woodpeckers . Speaking of , woodpeckers are the good mastery of stone drill , so thank them if you see any around !
Most of the time an infestation is no heavy deal , and you may just countenance nature take its course . But on new or already sick trees , there credibly is n’t much you may do but remove the specimen .
Chemical treatment are n’t really effective since the insects hide inside the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for the absolute majority of their life bicycle . The best you’re able to do is patronize your tree with appropriate watering , pruning , and feeding , if needed .
Oak leafhopper ( Platycotis vittata ) derive in many dissimilar colour combinations but all have a “ horn ” protrude out the front .
If you view them from psyche on , they have a triangular appearance .
These insects have sucking mouthparts that they inject into the tree to suck out the sap .
Although they ’re funky and possibly a picayune frightening to look at , they wo n’t gravely damage your tree , so do n’t worry about treat them .
They can fan out diseases but none that menace willow tree oaks .
Oak Skeletonizers
Bucculatrix ainsliella , the oak skeletonizer , gets its name because the larva of these moths feed on the underside of the leave .
They depart behind just the vein and these transparent little “ windows ” of the foliage remain , like a skeleton . These leafage finally dry up and drop .
On an established willow oak tree , you do n’t need to do anything . But if more than one-half of the tree is defoliated , or if the tree is young or stressed already , you will need to process it .
B thurengiensisv.kurstaki(Btk)is highly effective against the larva .
Bonide Thuricide
Pick up a spray that contains this beneficial bacteria , like Bonide ’s Thuricide .
It’savailable at Arbico Organicsin quart- and congius - sized ready - to - nebulizer options , or eight- and 16 - ounce concentrate .
Spray the tree in recent give and again in late summer , in casing there are two contemporaries .
Disease
Oak trees can be susceptible to diseases , but willow oaks less so . They are n’t magic , though .
They can still abridge diseases , but the transmission probably wo n’t kill your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Anthracnose is a common disease in oaks , though it ’s a routine less common in this species . It ’s have by the fungusApiognomonia errabunda , which expand in moist conditions .
At first , it causes small , water - dowse lesions that seem on the leaf margins or next to the folio nervure . These lesions bit by bit become grey and papery .
As unexampled leaves emerge , they will be strain or may drop off the branch before they can age . You ’ll usually see symptoms on the lower branch first .
discussion is challenging . Since willow oak tree are only gently affected , you should avoid chemical treatments and opt for support your plant instead so it thrives despite the transmission .
The spores can distribute far and wide , which mean even if you do get rid of anthracnose on your willow oak , it can make out right back if a neighbor ’s tree is infected .
The pathogen can also lie dormant inside a tree until favorable conditions return .
Keep your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree healthy with appropriate irrigation and get rid of all fall material from around the tree to restrain usable choice for the fungus to overwinter on .
cut back off any heavily symptomatic branches . cut back the canopy of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to open up it up , which will allow in more twinkle with a buildup of less wet , and thus create fewer position for the fungus to thrive on the low part of the tree .
triggered by the fungusPolyporus hispidus , rapidly mold cankers develop that can grow up to six inch annually .
The same fungus can also get expectant mushrooms attached to the torso , and these are sometimes used medicinally . But when they cause canker , they can kill a tree .
The fungus tends to infect heartwood , causing it to rot and turn black . It can also do rot in the cambium or sapwood . Growth above the canker dies .
chemical are not efficient in process this disease . Cut off diagnostic branches and supervise the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for extra symptoms . Trees with canker on a majority of the branch should be cull .
I experience , with a name like chestnut blight , you ’d imagine that this would only be a trouble forchestnut trees . Nope . It can taint willow tree oak , too .
It ’s due to the fungusCryphonectria parasitica , the same pathogen that killed almost all of the native chestnut trees across North America in just 50 year .
That ’s four billion trees lost in just a few decades .
Oaks are a master of ceremonies of the pathogen , but it wo n’t belt down them . It will , however , stimulate the barque to move around orange and sunken cankers to work .
spread out by wind and rainwater , it ’s knockout to insure , obviously , since it decimated so many trees . But Dr. Wayne Weidlich , a phytologist at Michigan State University , discover in the late ‘ 70 that the origin of some chestnut tree trees were uncover by the construction of a logging road .
These roots had cankers , which does n’t unremarkably materialise ; cankers develop on the above - terra firma parts . This run Weidlich to speculate that the soil itself prevents the cankers from develop .
So , along with MSU researchers and Dr. William MacDonald from West Virginia University , he experimented with using the soil to heal cankers , and it worked .
If you see cankers on your tree , take hold of some aboriginal soil that has n’t been treated with pesticides or weed killer and put it in a bucketful . Add some water to make a waterlogged slop .
come in this clay on a piece of plastic , like a garbage purse that has been cut open , and press the mud against the canker .
bind the plastic in place with rope or tape . Leave it in station for a few months and add water if necessary to keep the mud wet . The mud involve to completely cover the entire canker .
After a few months , you may remove the plastic and the pestilence will have become sealed by the tree so it ’s no longer an unresolved lesion .
Shoestring waste , also known as Armillaria root rot , is a disease caused byArmillaria melleafungi that infects the roots of tree diagram , but it does n’t remain there .
As it progresses , it moves into the cambium of the tree and kill that . finally , the entire tree fails .
As with many diseases that affect the roots , you wo n’t cognise anything is wrong until the symptoms set forth to come along above ground . In this instance , it ’s the foliage that tell the fib .
They will be pale and smaller than usual , and they will drop prematurely .
There is no efficacious treatment . If your specimen is confirmed to have this disease , you may keep going it with right watering and care , but it ’s ordinarily best to just transfer it .
Best Uses for Willow Oaks
If you’relooking for a shade Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , stop – you ’ve found the perfect one !
This is also a adept alternative for parking lots , along streets , and buffer flight strip because of its just habit and because it is n’t particularly messy .
Choose one of the very upright cultivar that we described above if you want a tree for one of these area .
It ’s not such a proficient bet if you have buck , however . The trees incorporate tannin and gallotannins which can be toxic if eat in large quantity .
On the other destruction of the spectrum , beast like squirrels , mice , and birds such as nuthatches , jay , woodpecker , tit , and turkeys rely on willow oak tree for intellectual nourishment .
The willow oak tree is also value for its pulp . And it may be used to restore bottom and demented areas in its native region .
Grow it withAmerican persimmons ( Diospyros virginiana ) , other oaks , tittivate pines ( Pinus glabra),dogwoods ( Cornusspp . ) , andhawthorns ( Crataegusspp . ) .
If you opt to use the acorns , look until they fall to the ground and check to see if a chapiter detaches easily . If it does n’t , this mean the acorn did n’t age to the full .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
You Will Love Willow Oaks
When I picture the unadulterated good afternoon , it need lay under a large old tree during the summer with a full book .
A willow oak definitely fit the bill as the idyllic shade Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . But it also works in places as varied as parking strips and wildlands in need of return . And when you plant one , the local wildlife will give thanks you .
There ’s fate more sport in theQuercusgenus to be had . If this guide helped you feel confident growing this coinage , you might want toread these other oak tree tree guidesnext :
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Kristine Lofgren
