Swamp White Oak - 'Quercus bicolor' Swamp White Oak is a native tree to the eastern central United States near the Ohio river valley. As the latin name implies, the 'Quercus bicolor' has two separate colors on its leaves during the spring and summer months - a lustrous green on top and a silvery grey on the bottom. Swamp White Oak is a type of deciduous White Oak that is wonderful for wildlife and erosion management. It has a nice brown to red fall color. It makes an excellent reforestation and timber tree and is known to live for centuries under the right conditions. With this in mind, Swamp White Oak make perfect candidates for reforestation programs such as the USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and programs sponsored by the EPA.
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| Common Name: | Swamp White Oak |
| Popular Varieties: | Kindred Spirit Hybrid Oak (Quercus robur fastigiata x Quercus bicolor 'Nadler') |
| Type: |
Deciduous Shade Tree |
| Family: |
Fagaceae |
| Sun Requirements: |
Full Sun |
| Leaves: |
Leaves are simple, alternate, oblong-obovate to obovate, 3 to 7 inches long, 1 to 4 inches wide, and acute with coarsely sinuate-dentate. Leaves have 6 to 10 pairs of coarse obtuse teeth and are lustrous dark green above with whitish tomentose or grayish green and velvety beneath. |
| Size: |
50 to 60 feet in height with an equal or greater spread. |
| Hardiness: |
Zone 3 to 8. For an idea of your plant zone please visit the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. |
| Habit: |
It forms a broad, open, round-topped crown and a short, limby trunk. |
| Rate: |
Slow to medium. |
| Flowers: |
Monoecious, appearing on the old or new growth; staminate catkins pendent, clustered; individual flowers comprising a 4 to 7 lobed calyx which encloses 6 stamens, rarely 6 to 12; pistillate flowers solitary or in few to many-flowered spikes from the axils of the new leaves; individual flowers consisting of a 6 lobed calyx surrounding a 3 celled ovary, the whole partly enclosed in an involucre. |
| Diseases & Insects: |
Anthracnose, basal canker, canker, leaf blister, leaf spots, powdery mildew, rust, twig blights, wilt, wood decay, shoe-string root rot, various galls, scales, yellow-necked caterpillar, pin oak sawfly saddleback caterpillar, oak skeletonizer, asiatic oak weevil, two-lined chestnut borer, flat headed borer, leaf miner, oak lace bug and oak mite; in spite of this inspiring list of pest, Oaks are durable, long-lived trees. |
| Landscape Value: |
A majestic and worthwhile tree for large areas, the Swamp White Oak contributes various resources beyond aesthetics such as watershed management, recreation, and wildlife management, as well as trees for the improvement of urban environments. Oak is a component of ecological landscaping. Drawing in deer to its acorns and dried leaves, Swamp White Oak is great for wild life plots. |
| Soil Preference: |
Requires acid soil and prefers wetlands. |
| Care: |
Prune in winter and water transplants thoroughly and often. |
| Fertilization: |
Fertilize an area three times the canopy spread of the tree 1 to 2 times a year with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Only fertilize an established tree.
| | Planting Instructions: |
Dig a hole three times the diameter of the root system, with a depth no deeper than the original soil line on trunk. Break up the soil to the finest consistency possible. Place plant in hole and fill, compacting the fill dirt. Water the plant heavily to seal soil around the roots and remove air pockets. Water well, and remember to water regularly until they have started to grow.
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