Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa
A majestic, long-lived native oak with a massive trunk, sturdy spreading limbs and big fringed acorns, tough enough for drought, clay and alkaline soil from the prairie to the city. Give it full sun and plenty of room, and avoid disturbing its roots.
- Mature size
- 70 × 70 ft
- 21.5 × 21.5 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry to moist
Bur Oak at its mature size
A mature Bur Oak grows 60 to 80 feet tall and just as wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, The Morton Arboretum, The Tree Center.
Through the year
What Bur Oak looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Nov–Apr
Bare rugged spreading limbs.
In leaf · May–Oct
Big lobed dark green leaves.
Growing Bur Oak
- Grows well in
- The Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, and the Northeast.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Specimen and drought tolerant
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Central and Eastern North America
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Bur Oak, that’s about 70 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Bur Oak in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other oaks
Pin Oak
Red Oak
White OakBur OakAll drawn to the same scale.