Lobata would be good but I like Quercus chrysolepis which you don't have on the list.

Have you not tried Q. suber or various other oaks of the Iberian Peninsula? (I think Q. suber is a little hardier than Q. ilex) You could also try Quercus libani but it is very hard to find these days.

As for your list, I think Q. dentata from moist and rainy Japan - and with large leaves to deal with it - is really going to hate the US SW, though oaks are generally adaptable. (other than California Oaks not doing well in humid or rainy climates; even the ones at the Huntington are dying because of the water used to irrigate Asian camellias)

Quercus prinus is supposed to occur on very dry rocky lands.

@ joeinmo,

Quercus chrysolepis may do well here, but I'm not a big fan of live oaks....

@davidrt28

Quercus suber does well around here... but again, live oak..Q. libani looks nice, but I'm not sure where to find one.

I guess I forgot to mention that water is not an issue for me. I can water them as much as I want... I'm more worried about dry environment conditions, and heavy clay...

osprey

Osprey, how dry and how much water? I have this instant flashback to Badwater, CA when folks mention the west even though I know that is an extreme.

Also, I have a 90 foot oak and could not imagine being able to water it from my hose even in flood prone st louis.

Now if you could plant it downhill from the septic and there is a year round creek nearby....

Dry.... 2 years ago we had 8 months without a single drop of water.. that dry. It can get to 104 F once a year.. so far the highest this year has been 91 F.
How much water..... I have a well, so I have plenty of water. There are several cottonwoods (P. fremontii) over 6' in diameter doing well... on top of that... I don't expect to live enough to see them attaining 50'....

In general, which of the species listed may do better... and which the least likely...

Just to play devil's advocate, but I was just hearing somewhere about how aquifers are shrinking out west, and will take thousands of years to replenish.
Here's an interesting statistic: 1 inch of rainfall over 1 acre is 27,154 gallons!

That is true, aquifers are shrinking... but I only water 5 acres with one well... so, if water gets scarce, the most affected will be the ones irrigating larger fields (agriculture), therefore, they will be the first to quit extracting water......leaving enough for me.....

at least that's in theory

How about your native oaks?

Q. grisea
Q. muhlenbergii
Q. oblongifolia
Q. gravesii
Q. turbinella
Q. arizonica
Q. hypoluecodies
Q. rugosa
Q. gambelli

I have Q. gambelli.... but most of the ones you listed are live oaks.....
I was wondering if any of the listed may do OK here...

by the way, do you know a source of Q. gravesii.

Thanks

Quercus Fusiformis and Q. Macrocarpa . I had been told that Q. Prinus/Montana weren't good for desert, but good for upland in Appalachia. I would try it though. The Fusiformis is native to desert conditions. I have some here in Pa though. I found mine at Oaks of the wild west in Arizona. I emailed or called them, they have a website but you have to call to order. The tree is hardy for me in zone 6, but grows too slow in my climate to thrill me much.

Gamble oak.

I already have in the ground (over 3 years) Q. macrocarpa and shumardii... doing very well. Also, Q. robur and lobata seems to like it here... been in the ground for almost two year now.... Do you think the other in my list will make it?

ospreynn,

What's your soil ph and how is your well water? I'm near Denver, zone 5, 4900 ft altitude with 7.9 soil ph (clay) and high alkaline well water. We had 9 inches total precip. last year. Thankfully, precip. is better this year.

I'm growing Q. bicolor, Q. coccinea, Q. macrocarpa and Q. muehlenbergii with irrigation. I have not been successful with Q. robur and Q. rubra, although I plan to try robur again and alba as well.

"That is true, aquifers are shrinking... but I only water 5 acres with one well... so, if water gets scarce, the most affected will be the ones irrigating larger fields (agriculture), therefore, they will be the first to quit extracting water......leaving enough for me..... "

The more likely scenario is that, as a profit driven business, the agriculture people will keep paying to dig deeper wells in order to find the water necessary to keep making money. So long as it is profitable. Which will likely exhaust your ability to dig a deeper well. Unless you are a millionaire or something.

treebarb

My soil has a pH slightly over 7. Top layer (12-24") is a sandy loam, and below that there is only black clay. I'm not sure what the pH on my water is... The forecast for this year is not that good... not for us in the west....
I haven't tried Q. bicolor and coccinea yet. I'm still looking for Q. muehlenbergii..... and a few others. Q. robur should do well for you... it seems to like it here. Q. rubra is doing OK, but it is too early to draw any conclusions.. it's been in the ground only 3 months.

famartin,

We own several other wells, all for agricultural purposes. There seems to be no water deeper than 500' in this area. Test wells for oil purposes didn't find oil nor water.....

For Q. gravesii and Q. buckleyi you might try Trees the Please nursey in Los Lunas. I've never been there but I'm pretty sure they are growing them.

Thanks dricha.. I will be in Albuquerque in two weeks.. I should visit their nursery while I'm there...

I'm familiar with Q. macrocarpa and shumardii. Would have expected the Bur to be doing the better of the two.

The bur is doing great... but the shumard oak grows faster. My bur oak grows twice a year, is that common?

I am just saying, watering a tree over thirty feet tall is a whole different game than watering a small one.

But if you do agriculture ya already have the equipment.

Maybe not oaks, but the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix really opened up my eyes to the existance of a lot of plants. I was visiting a st loyis transplant (to vegas oddly enough) and it made the area seem better just looking at that readily grown bio diversity.

As I understand it, Bur Oak typically grows once a year, but if well-watered another growth spurt can occur. My trees will typically grow 8-12" in about 2 weeks and then stop growing. At this point grow shifts to the roots. Whenever the roots have grown sufficiently and the tree has been well-watered, it can start another growth spurt. That may be later in the summer, or it may be next year. My Shumards only seems to grow in the spring, but typically, they can outgrow the Burs. Believe the Bur will thrive with less water than the Shumard however.

toronado... it shouldn't be a problem for me.. watering a 30' trees should be fine... now, anything over 50' .. that's a different story...

scotjute, This is the second year that I get a second spurt on my Bur oak... It grew about 18" and last week I noticed it is putting a second spurt.. only about 3 weeks after the first growth... I'll try to get a pic this weekend..

osprey