Important wildlife canopy species of Appalachian mountains and highland terrain of oak-heath forests from southern Maine to Alabama. Rare in Maine, the northernmost limit of its range, where its few existing populations are endangered from development and logging.
Considered part of the Red Oak group due to bristle tips on leaves and 2-year maturation of acorns. Leaves have 7–9 lobes and wide sinuses. Scarlet red foliage in fall. Dark grey bark has irregular ridges and reddish inner bark like the red oak. Wood is strong and heavy though coarsely grained.
Requires dry acidic soil, likes sand—intolerant of alkaline soils. Full sun. Owing to our changing climate conditions, it may now be able to get a foot hold in Central Maine. Z5. (1-3' bare-root trees)
Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered
on or before March 7 will ship around March 31
through late April, starting with warmer areas and finishing in
colder areas. Orders placed after March 7 will
ship around late April through early-to-mid May, in the order in
which they were received.
ships in spring
7645
Scarlet Oak
Additional Information
Oaks Quercus spp.
Many oaks are native to New England. They are generally divided into two groups: the reds and the whites. The reds have pointier leaves and the whites have rounder ones. Most of them make absolutely breathtaking shade trees, creating a major presence in almost any landscape and providing bountiful forage for wildlife and for humans. The strongly astringent inner bark, foliage and acorn caps are all medicinal, and acorns were an extremely important human food source for thousands of years. Contrary to much of the literature, all acorns are edible, both reds and whites. (For detailed instructions on acorn processing, see Samuel Thayer’s book, Nature’s Garden.) The tannins from a handful of oak leaves added to homemade half-sours will keep pickles crisp for months. Oaks are monoecious so you need only one to get fruit.
