Northern Red Oak

Availability: Out of stock
SKU
65

Show Off Your Impeccable Taste Northern Red Oak

  • Fast-Growing Shade Tree
  • Sophisticated Looks
  • Long-Lived
  • Outstanding Fall Color
  • Acorns are Mast Food for Wildlife
  • Prized as Fine Timber

Admittedly, making a choice about a shade tree can be a little challenging. There are so many directions you can go, and Nature Hills offers a vast selection of beautiful, deciduous trees.

People look for fast results, and they demand more than one season of interest.

How about we add in wildlife value? Let's add a dash of sophisticated good looks, and talk about Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra). This native tree has so much going for it.

This popular, long-lived, deciduous tree is grown throughout a wide region. It is native to the United States and makes a perfect shade tree for many yards.

Northern Red Oak is one of the fastest-growing, high value Oaks. It should reach an established shade height of 20 feet after 10 years.

The Northern Red Oak becomes a wonderful presence to the landscape. The distinctive, deeply lobed foliage changes colors throughout the growing season. New leaves emerge light red in spring, then deepen into lustrous, glossy green for summer.

Its really in fall that the Northern Red Oak shines the brightest. The leaves turn harvest red, russet and bright red tones on the same tree. All of the leaves have a real depth of color that you can study for a long time.

If you can place it to the west of a window, it will grow to filter the hot rays of the setting sun for you. Place a comfy chair in front of the window, as you will want to enjoy your tree over a cup of coffee. Enjoy the play of squirrels as they run and cavort along the well-spaced, upright branches.

Like its cousins, Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) and Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea), Red Oaks are some of the most versatile trees grown in America. Youll have seen them used as street trees or in parks and golf courses.

This is a wonderful tree for large landscapes. Its long-lived and has a stately presence that only gets better with age.

Use Northern Red Oak on a commercial lot to lend some of its trustworthy charms to your corporate brand experience. This is a tree that gets noticed.

Youll never regret your decision to stick with this native tree. Order today!

How to Use Northern Red Oak in the Landscape

Youll be thrilled with the handsome good looks of this native tree. A national treasure, this deciduous tree is widely adaptable.

It's tolerant of urban conditions and is relatively salt-tolerant, so works well on the coast. The roots can tolerate compacted soil, so this is the right tree for new construction.

Allow a single specimen tree to become a magnificent focal point in your yard. Buying the largest container size we have in stock will shave years off your wait.

If you have the room, try using multiple trees to create a wonderful design element in larger yards.

Plant Northern Red Oaks 10 to 15 feet apart on center. Measure from the trunk of one to the trunk of the next. The branches may eventually touch, but each tree will have enough room to develop.

Plant a row on either side of a long driveway for a transformative experience entering and exiting your land. Imagine this alle in the brightest fall color. What a visual treat!

Create a grove of trees planted along a curved semi-circle. Then, add a patio with comfy seating in the center. Youll feel like you are living in an outdoor sanctuary.

In rural settings, get ready to start seeing Wild Turkeys, Blue Jays and even White-Tailed Deer who rely on the to 1-inch acorns. Be sure to include this variety in a well-managed food forest.

The acorns produced are considered prime forage for wildlife. Pair with other Oak trees to ensure a consistent acorn mast production across the season.

Use a row along the sunny edge of a wilderness. You can plant this row straight as a stick. Or, why not stagger it a bit, varying the spacing between trees and even pushing some further back? We bet youll like the natural look of a looser formation.

Add it to mixed plantings to create a natural ecosystem in your yard. Include evergreens of all shapes and sizes and use smaller flowering trees. Add plants for butterflies and plants that berry for birds. Be sure to site your Oak at the north of the planting bed, so the other plants have enough sun to flower.

Use Northern Red Oak in a formal setting as a street tree, but please know that design trends have changed. Now, instead of straight rows of a single variety, designers and tree planners are using a diversified planting method.

Try it in your yard. First, plant 3 Red Oaks, then change to another species. You could include Bald Cypress, other Oaks, Catalpa, Maples or Tulip Trees in the planting design. Overall, it will still read as a formal application, but it will protect the entire planting against disease.

#ProPlantTips for Care

The Northern Red Oak requires well-drained soils and is intolerant of wet soils.

It needs full sun to thrive. Even in the dense forests of the East Coast, this variety is most often found growing where other tall trees have fallen down and allow open light for the young sapling to grow.

Northern Red Oak does poorly in part shade, so give it a spot in the yard that it can spread out unhindered by adjoining tall trees.

Though drought tolerant, the Northern Red Oak can become stressed in extreme drought. Apply a 3-4-inch layer of mulch to 3 to 4 feet outside of the canopy to keep roots cool in the hot summer. In extended periods of dry, apply additional summer water.

The nice, symmetrical crown wont give you many pruning decisions. If you do want to correct the form or remove crossing branches, prune in fall or winter.

This Oak is easy to grow and transplants easily. It is relatively disease and pest-free.

This variety is the most important timber variety of all the northern oaks, prized by makers of fine furniture, cabinetry and flooring. The tree's excellent strength and light pink heartwood, with its very open grain patterns, make it a very desirable high-end wood. Northern Red Oak also produces wonderful firewood that burns slow and hot.

You'll never regret going with this beloved native tree. Northern Red Oak is a great choice.

Buying Options for Plants

Nature Hills sells a large variety of plants with several options available. Plants are offered in both potted containers and as dormant bare root without soil. Here is a helpful resource to understand your options as you create a beautiful landscape with help from Nature Hills.

Ever wonder what a larger plant will mean for your landscape? Container Sizes are really all about the age of the plant!

Seasonally, Nature Hills offers hand selected, high quality bare root trees, shrubs and perennials. Bare root plants are sold by height from the top of the root system to the top of the plant. Plants may be taller than the height minimums.

  • Popular sizes of select trees are 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, etc.
  • Popular sizes of select bare root plants is 1 foot, 18 inches, etc.

Nature Hills Container Size by Volume

Keep in mind, specific varieties and different growing conditions can affect the rate at which plants grow. Variations in size may occur.

Young Plants to 18 Months
Size Volume
2"x2"x3" Ranges from .18 to .21 dry quarts / .198 to .23 dry liters in volume
4.5" Container Equal to .65 dry quart / .72 dry liter in volume
Sprinter Pot Equal to .63 dry quart / .69 dry liter in volume
4" Container Ranges from .31 to .87 / .35 to .96 dry liter in volume
6" Container Equal to 1.4 dry quarts / 1.59 dry liters in volume
1 Quart Equal to 1 dry quart / 1.1 dry liter in volume
5.5" Container Equal to 1.89 of a dry quart / 2.08 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x5" Ranges from .8 to 1.1 dry quarts / .88 to 1.2 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x6" Ranges from 1.0 to 1.3 dry quarts / 1.1 to 1.41 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x9" Ranges from 1.1 to 2.1 dry quarts / 1.2 to 2.3 dry liters in volume
4"x4"x10" Ranges from 1.7 to 2.3 dry quart / 1.87 to 2.53 dry liters in volume
Plants 18 Months - 2.5 Years Old
Size Volume
2 Quart Equal to 2 dry quarts / 2.2 dry liters in volume
#1 Container Ranges from 2.26 to 3.73 dry quarts / 2.49 to 4.11 dry liters in volume
5"x5"x12" Equal to 3.5 to 4.3 dry quarts / 3.85 to 4.74 dry liters in volume
Plants 2 - 4 Years Old
Size Volume
#2 Container Ranges from 1.19 to 1.76 dry gallons / 5.24 to 7.75 dry liters in volume
#3 Container Ranges from 2.32 to 2.76 dry gallons / 10.22 to 12.16 dry liters in volume
Plants 3 - 5 Years Old
Size Volume
#5 Container Ranges from 2.92 to 4.62 dry gallons / 12.86 to 20.35 dry liters in volume
#6 Container Ranges from 5.25 to 6.01 dry gallons / 23.12 to 26.42 dry liters in volume
#7 Container Ranges from 5.98 to 6.08 dry gallons / 26.34 to 26.78 dry liters in volume

About Plant Sentry™

Plant Sentry is designed to protect both consumers and the nursery trade from invasive plant pests and diseases. Sites that display the Plant Sentry protection badge are protected from consumers buying and nurseries shipping material carrying invasive pests and diseases.

This proprietary eCommerce software prevents the shipment of a restricted plant to each state. The Plant Sentry system includes a shipment certification program. The Plant Sentry Compliance Officer works closely with NatureHills.com and each nursery or fulfillment center to ensure only compliant plants are sold to customers.

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Plant Sentry

Shipping

To obtain a more accurate shipment time-frame, simply enter your zip code in the “Find Your Growing Zone” box to the right. Our plants are grown all over the country and lead time on items may be different because of this. Once your order is placed, you will also receive the specific shipment time-frame information as part of your order confirmation. Once an item ships, you will receive shipment notification and tracking numbers, so you can follow along while your plant travels to your doorstep. We use FedEx, UPS, or USPS at our discretion.

Due to winter weather we have put a hold on shipping to the areas shown below in grey. You can still order now and we will ship the plant to you during an appropriate time for your zone.

*If you have found your zone already, it will be highlighted in the table below.
Color Zone Times
3 Spring 2019
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Shipping Rates

At Nature Hills we handle, package and ship the products you order with the utmost care to ensure healthy delivery. Shipping and handling charges are calculated based on the tables below. Please note that some items include an additional handling surcharge, these will be noted on the item's product page.

From To S&H
0 - 19.99 24.99
20 - 49.99 29.99
50 - 69.99 34.99
70 - 99.99 39.99
100 - 129.99 44.99
130 - 149.99 48.99
150 - 150+ Approx 28%

Click here to see our full rates

PLANT HIGHLIGHTS

Northern Red Oak Is Suited to Grow in Zones 3-8
Growing Zones 3-8
More Information
Brand Nature Hills' Choice
Botanical Name Quercus rubra
Mature Height 50 - 60 feet
Mature Spread 50 - 60 feet
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Well Drained
Moisture Moderate
Growth Rate Fast
Flower Color Deciduous
Foliage Deciduous
Foliage Color Green
Fall Color Red
Pollinator Friendly Yes