Quercus coccinea

Scarlet Oak

Title

Scarlet Oak is a large native deciduous tree with a straight trunk and an open rounded crown.  The deeply cut dark green foliage with bristle tipped lobes turns scarlet in fall.  The acorns have a deep bowl-shaped cups that cover half the acorn.  Best grown in full sun and sandy, dry to medium well-drained acidic soils.  

Quercus coccinea supports a wide variety of moths and butterflies, including: the Imperial Moth, Banded Hairstreak, Edward's Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, White-M Hairstreak, Horace’s Duskywing, and the Juvenal’s Duskywing. 

Type: 

Tree

Height: 

50’ - 70’

Spread: 

40’ - 50’

Spacing: 

45’

USDA Hardiness Zone: 

4 - 9

Culture: 

Full Sun, Part Sun

Bloom Color: 

Green

Season of Interest:

Fall

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  Low Maintenance.  Highly susceptible to oak wilt, but resistant to chlorosis.  Problems including Leaf spots, anthracnose, canker, mildew, rust, wilts, rots, galls and numerous pests may occur.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, BordersWoodland GardensNaturalized AreasWildlife Gardens Privacy Screen, and Shade Tree.

COMPANION PLANTS: Crape MyrtleServiceberryMagnolia

IMAGES:  Photo by James St. JohnQuercus coccinea (scarlet oak) 1, (2) El GrafoQuercus coccinea ÖBG 09-07-16CC BY-SA 3.0, (3) Anders LageråsScharlakanseklovCC BY-SA 3.0, (4) Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, Scarlet Oak (31193582651)CC BY 2.0, (5) Famartin2014-11-02 14 18 05 Scarlet Oak during autumn along Hunters Ridge Drive in Hopewell Township, New JerseyCC BY-SA 4.0, (6) CrusierQuercus coccinea barkCC BY-SA 3.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown