you are planning on PROPER PLANTING time in fall right???

now.. we need the following info:

where are you.. big city
soil type
size you are thinking of buying
ball and burlap.. or potted.. or are you going to find a tree farm??

since you have until fall to plant it.. i highly suggest.. you locate a tree farm.. and select one in a spectacular fall color .. fall color is VERY variable ...

anyway.. more info please ..

ken

We live in the country in central iowa. ~18-24 inches of black top soil turning to a clay mix. Tree will be planted in fall. Thinking potted not b&b. How does a tree farm differ from a typical nursery selling potted and b&b trees?

Great suggestion about picking based on fall color. Hadn't thought of that..

I'd go with Q. Alba as it's a fave of mine too. Be sure that it has plenty of room, and as it matures, avoid stepping on it's feet. In other words, do not run lawn tractors over it's root zones as that is a sure fire way to kill it. I put a larger than needed mulch ring around mine that are in the yard.

Planting timing..If your tree is potted then fall or any time is OK, but I'd wait to check out the fall color first as suggested above.

However, if it is to be transplanted manually or with a tree spade (i.e. freshly dug) then SPRING is the only time to move an Oak. Do it a couple of weeks after bud break. If you have some time, and it sounds like you do, select your tree this fall after you've had a chance to critique it's colors, tag it at the nursery and they'll hold on to it for you until your ready to have it delivered next spring..

You've made an excellent choice, best wishes!

Brad N.IL/Z5

Good old fashioned Q. alba would be my choice.

I also like Swamp Chestnut Oak (Q. michauxii) but that might not survive in your zone - I think it's more a zone 6 plant.

Swamp white oak is less commonly seen, so might be more distinctive. Bark is unique (peeling) on young trunks & branches too.

I think SWO is a tad faster growing, although the "slowness" of Q. alba is somewhat overstated, IMHO.

I've seen Q. alba in good conditions put on 2 ft+/yr.

Q. alba is an excellent choice!

Swamp white oak (Q. bicolor) prefers more acidic soils. I'm not sure what the ph of Iowa glacial till is but you might want to confirm first.

Q. prinus (Chestnut Oak) is a good choice but make sure soils are very well drained.

Q. michauxii (Swamp chestnut oak) is very nice and should be hardy for you. There is a mature one at the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada (zone 5a).

What about Q. muehlenbergii (Chinquapin Oak), Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea), or Shingle Oak (Q. imbricaria)?

This post was edited by smivies on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 14:24

Yep, good points by Beng & Harmetal. One more thing about SWO is that they appear to be a tad more tolerant of root zone disturbances if that makes any difference to you. I have a couple of them at my place and like them.

One caveat about SWO if you decide to put it in your yard is their growth pattern. Their lower branches have a tendency to grow in a downward direction and it sorta smarts when you get poked by these as you're mowing or playing around it. Not an unmanageable thing, so don't discount it because of this trait.

Any way that you can find a way to squeeze both Q.Alba & Q.Bicolor in at your place? :-) I can't comment on Chestnut Oak as I've got no experience with those guys.

Cheers!

Brad N.IL/Z5

What about a bur oak?

Just an FYI,
I am increasingly seeing B&B White Oak Q. alba. The localy city is planting allot of them in their parks (Scarlet Oak too) of 2"+ caliper. In the last few years, the use of "undercutting" to cut the taproot yearly, has made the transplanting of many species B&B much easier than the past. We had a 2" caliper 15' tall B&B Scarlet Oak (traditionally considered difficult to transplant at larger size just like the White Oak) planted in November 2010, and it has done great. Personally, I would rather go this route, than a container grown tree, with all the problems with circling roots etc.

Arktrees

My Chestnut oak Quercus Prinus/Montana is my fastest growing white oak. My area has been getting good rain the whole life of the 2 Chestnut oaks I have, when our area has a drought eventually they may not grow as fast. I would say they've averaged 4 -5 feet a year.

you could try one of the unique hybrids like Saul Oak, mix of Chestnut oak and white oak. They tend to show hybrid vigor so they grow slightly faster than either species. Nativnursery sells seedlings....

smives, Q prinus is a dry-soil specialist, but is adaptable & isn't bothered by poorly drained soil, to a point. Mine thrives in a high water table near a stream, close to my swamp white oak.

Planted one B&B Q. alba in my yard 3 years ago in the middle of summer and it's about 10' taller at this point. It really hit the ground running. Planted another of similar size in my yard that same fall, which went through some stress the past two summers but appears to be taking off now as well this spring.

I'm no expert, but if there's one thing that's held true for all my plantings, from perennials to trees, it's that you have to wait until that second or third year in the ground for things to really get established. I can't tell you how many failed planting I thought I had, only to see them come up vigorously the following year. That said, a vote for the Q. alba. Good things take time, but by no means is this tree as slow growing as it's often made out to be.

One more vote for quercus alba, but consider lyrata and stellata. They have beautiful habit and a wonderful texture that is reminiscent of alba's and (as far as I have read) *can* have decent fall color

To piggyback on lcadem, here is my q stellata in fall glory. If fall color is critical, selecting your specimen when it is colored up in the fall would be appropriate.

Sad to think 2 years after these pics were taken, the drought has taken its toll on the tree and only 2-3 branches remain alive...

Right click and "view image" for a close up of the second pic

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John

White oak, definitely!

If you are within driving distance of Rushville, IL, you could try Boehm's Garden Center - They carry a variety of oaks in Rootmaker containers (Knit mesh bags/ in-ground containers), and they're in West-Central IL (Across the Mississippi from SE Iowa), so their climate should be somewhat similar to yours.

In my experience, anything grown in a rootmaker/root pruning pot will far out-perform B&B or conventional nursery containers.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Lots of great information here. I'm leaning towards quercus alba but may try to see if I can fit in a quercus stellata also.

So many great oaks to choose from!

Im in central iowa , just outside Des Moines. Hopefully I can find some place a bit closer but I'll keep boehm's in mind.