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Quercus phellos

Willow Oak

Pronunciation
KWER-kus FEL-os
Pronunciation Audio
Family
Genus
Nativity

New York to Florida, west to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas

Growth Habit

Gracefully pyramidal becoming broadly oval. Medium to fast growth rate.

Hardiness
5
Culture

Moist, well-drained, acid soils in full sun or light shade.

Facultative Status
Facultative
Landscape Use

Willow oak is a grand tree for a large landscape with both notable texture and form. It works well as a street tree or highway planting. Transplanting is best done in the winter when the tree is dormant. Easily transplanted fibrous root system.

Foliage

Light to bright green in spring; dark green in summer. Alternate, simple, lance-shaped, without lobes or teeth; 2 to 5.5 inches long x .25 to 1 inch wide. No autumn color.

Buds

Pin-like twigs with sharp buds, chestnut-brown color.

Bark

Shallowly ridged and furrowed bark, gray-brown color.

Fruit

Nut (acorn) .5 inches long or less, involucre (cup) small and saucerlike. Brown with alternating black bands.

Propagation

Use firm cuttings after the first flush of growth has hardened in the spring. Treat with 10,000 KIBA-quick dip, 2 perlite:1 peat, mist. Should root in around 10 weeks.

Pests
None serious.
Cultivars

Ascendor (R) ('QPSTJ') - Upswept branches, dense canopy, yellow fall color.

Hightower (R) ('QPSTA') - Lustrous dark green leaves, good mite resistance.

Wynstar (R) ('QPMTF') - Uniform habit, dark green leaves, russet-orange color in fall.

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