Nuttall Oak

COMMON NAMES: Red Oak, Red River Oak, Pin Oak, Striped Oak
BOTANICAL NAME: Quercus nuttallii  (KWER-kus nu-TALL-ee-eye)
TYPE: Deciduous – Sun
HEIGHT: to 50 feet
SPREAD: 40 feet
SPACING: 30 – 40 feet

HABIT: Medium to large tree, deciduous shade tree. Fall color is not spectacular. Small trees have a narrow pyramidal crown which becomes broad, open and wide-spreading with age. It is closely related to northern pin oak, Quercus ellipsoidalis. Its leaf resembles that of a Shumard red oak, Q. shumardii, but is more deeply lobed and the acorns are larger and have a deeper cup.

CULTURE: Found in bottomlands, floodplains and drainage basins. Grows well with winter flooding on sites with year-round moisture and in areas that are waterlogged and oxygen-deficient. Will withstand a great variability in pH, but it cannot tolerate shade.

USES: Shade tree, especially good for heavy moist soils.

PROBLEMS: Not greatly drought tolerant.

NOTES: Sometimes confused with pin oak.