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The Oak tree, botanically called Quercus, is one of the more popular trees for street, park and commercial planting and for the sun drenched home landscape. There is hardly a tree out there that is as easy to grow, as accommodating to wildlife and strong enough to be able to withstand hurricane winds, your nastier Noreasters and other natural disasters Mother Nature can throw at us without losing a limb. The Oak can tolerate almost any soil and can outlive it’s original planter by many decades and perhaps centuries. These acorns from which the nighty Oak grows were very likely planted by squirrels of prodigious forethought and we truly should thank them for it.
The Oak tree provides a wonderfully useful wood good for furniture, hardwood floors and cabinetry. It provides shade during hot summer days and screens out cold winter winds. Its acorns which grow in abundance attracts wildlife as diverse as black bears, whitetail deer, wild turkeys, raccoons and Blue Jays. The Oak is therefore a great tree to plant somewhere in your vicinity. Only thing is, there is not just one type of oak tree. But as there are approximately 600 species of Oak and we cannot possibly go over all of them we may want to take a look at a select few, your more popular varieties for the home garden and also for park, street, commercial planting and especially for re-forestation.
Pin Oak (Q. palustris)
The Pin Oak is arguable the most easily recognized of all oaks in its young form due to its head-of-a-pin or pyramidal shape. As it matures, however, the crown takes on a more rounded shape. This Oak grows rather quickly and can reach a height of 60-70 feet. The canopy spread is 25-45 feet wide, perfect for those looking for a pretty, backyard shade tree. The foliage is glossy and dark green. When autumn comes around the entire tree is ablaze in a brilliant brick red color and, of course, down come all those darling acorns we associate with Oaks. The Pin Oak is not particular about soil type, so, clay ground is not a problem for it. It also tolerates wet soil and is hardy in USDA zones 4-8.
White Oak (Q. alba)
A large tree for the landscape which can accommodate its impressive size, the White Oak’s growth rate is slow to moderate but it eventually gets to be 50-80 feet high with an equal spread. It likes soil on the acidic side, moist but well draining. Incorporating compost into the planting hole before setting in the tree’ will help achieve this easily. Lovely rounded form is wonderful for providing ample shade in USDA zones 3-9.
Red Oak (Q. rubra)
Red Oak is one of the most tolerant of city conditions, like pollution, compacted soil and winter salting for snow and ice management. It grows rather rapidly for the first ten years, up to 2 feet per year and will eventually get 60-75 feet tall with a spread of about 45 feet. Its dense canopy can provide cooling shade to city neighborhoods just when needed most and is strong enough to hold up several little kids willing to climb up into it. Hardy to USDA zones 3-8.
English Oak (Q. robur)
Hardy in USDA zones 5-8, the English Oak is one that requires an excessive amount of space to be totally happy. Specimens several centuries have been measured at as much as140 feet tall with an 80 foot spread making this enormous tree suitable only for your bigger landscapes. For park planting, however, nothing beats this tree for providing wonderful shade and ample shelter for wildlife.
Southern Live Oak (Q. virginiana)
A staple of the southern landscape, The Southern Live Oak is an evergreen in its comfort range of 8 and 9 but it can be grown with success in USDA zone 6-10 although there can be significant leaf burn and drop off making it not exactly evergreen in the coldest regions. The glossy long, narrow leaves are not your typical Oak leaf shape so, many don’t consider it a true Oak. An extremely gnarly branched, wide spreading, and excessively strong Oak this one lines many a drive going to southern plantation type homes. An allee of these 60 foot tall trees spreading their branches to an astonishing 80 feet across looks spectacular especially as they almost always are strewn with Spanish moss and mistletoe giving them an eery appearance while pleasantly cooling their surroundings. Extremely hard wood, the Live Oak can often withstand the harshest hurricanes without missing a single limb.
Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea )
The early spring foliage of the Scarlet Oak is, needless to say, red but this color fades to a bright green on the top with a lighter green underneath for summer. In autumn it turns on the fireworks with a scarlet show and even the inner bark has a reddish tinge to it. Hardy in USDA zones 4-9, Scarlet Oak grows quickly and tops off at around 60-80 feet high and 40-50 feet across. The rounded canopy has an open quality providing dappled shade. Very ornamental and great for the home garden.
Willow Oak (Q. phellos)
Willow Oak gets its name from the willow like light to medium green leaves which turn a yellow or brownish color for autumn. It grows some 40-60 feet tall and has a spread about 35 feet wide. It grows relatively rapid, tolerates wet soil and prefers things on the acidic side. Every nice for the home landscape for its manageable size and lovely pyramidal shape.
That is only seven of some 600 Oak cultivars but there is no doubt these are some of the best and easiest to find in your average garden center. But more rare cultivars are readily available online. Hope you manage to find a place in your yard so you can plant one of these amazing trees or perhaps we can get Mr. Squirrel to do it for you! Problem solved.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 Short Stories @ Helium: http://www.helium.com/users/32782/show_articles
www.maximumyield.com
How to create your own backyard bird sanctuary Zone: http://www.helium.com/zone/2884-how-to-create-your-own-backyard-bird-sanctuary
Ornamental Grass Zone: http://www.helium.com/zone/2775-ornamental-grasses
Novelettes- in-progress @ Glory’s Stories: http://myspace.com/glorygarden
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