Red Oak
Quercus rubra
A sturdy, fast native shade tree with a broad crown, leaves that open pinkish-red and turn russet to bright red in fall, and acorns that feed squirrels and birds. It transplants easily and takes city air. It needs acid soil, and prune it only in the dormant season to avoid spreading oak wilt.
- Mature size
- 60 × 63 ft
- 18.5 × 19 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part sun
- Water
- Dry to moist
- Fall color
- Oct–Nov
Red Oak at its mature size
A mature Red Oak grows 50 to 70 feet tall and 50 to 75 feet 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.
Through the year
What Red Oak looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Apr
Bare stout branches, gray bark with shiny flat-topped ridges.
In leaf · May–Sep
Dull dark green bristle-tipped lobed leaves.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Russet red to red-brown, moderately bright.
Photos
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Growing Red Oak
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Specimen, drought tolerant, fall color, and fast growing
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Eastern North America and Central North America
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Red Oak, that’s about 63 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 Red Oak in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other oaks
Red Oak
Pin Oak
Shumard Oak
White OakAll drawn to the same scale.