Quercus velutina?

Most Oaks dislike even slightly alkaline soils but many do adapt. Even then they REALLY struggle when drought hits.

My top hardy Oak suggestions for slightly alkaline soils are:

.bicolor
.robur
.velutina
.macrocarpa
.ellipsoidalis

The list could look very different given your location.

I'd forget about all those mid-western red oaks and go with more drought adapted ones like:

Q. buckleyi
Q. canbyi
Q. gravesii
Q. hypoleucoides
Q. shumardii(from the western edge of their range)
possibly Q. rysophylla (as long as it's alkaline clay and not hard limestone).

bboy,
Yes, Q. velutina ....

whass,
Just what I thought about oaks.. but for some reason some do well here. From your list, I have robur and macrocarpa, both doing extremely well.... bicolor and velutina will be planted next year.

dricha,
You don't think any of the mid-western red oaks will be OK here???... This year, I planted a Q. rubra and a Q. pagoda in containers with native soil, and they look fine, we'll see what they do next year when they get planted. From your list I have Q. shumardii (unknow source) and Q. gravesii... I need to try some others in your list... but I was more interested in some of the large mid-western oaks.....

Some other oaks doing well here:
Q. muelehnbergii
Q. gambelii
Q. lobata
Q. virginiana
Q. dentata (only 5 months, but looks fine)

What would be some species that definitely dislike alkaline clays, something comparable to pin oaks?... Q. falcata? Q. nigra? Q. lyrata?

Thanks for your comments and suggestions

Shumard is good if a Texas seed source (pref. West of I-35). Parts of OH, IN, & KY also have slightly alkaline soils, so Shumard seed sourced from there should be OK as well.

Bur Oak seems to like alkaline soils, as does Chinkapin.

Thanks hairmetal... I'm not sure what the provenance of my Q. shumardii is, but it may be from Texas...
Bur oaks does very well around here, even in parking lots with very irregular watering....

The country splits down the middle into a humid east and an arid west, with even the Pacific Northwest having a marked summer drought. Arid and semiarid regions are where there will often be plants tolerant of minerals.

"What would be some species that definitely dislike alkaline clays, something comparable to pin oaks?... Q. falcata? Q. nigra? Q. lyrata? "

It's not that Pin Oak dislikes clay, it just alkaline intolerant.
Q. phellos comes to mind as well....

Other oaks are more tolerant of alkaline soils but are intolerant of compacted clay soils which exacerbates any chlorosis.

bboy,

that is right, but one also has to consider that there are certain species that are more 'plastic' than others, even when certain conditions (soil, weather, etc) do not prevail in their native range.

smivies,

You are right, I was talking about the combination of clay and alkalinity which is what I have... well, slightly alkaline soil. Is Q. phellos that intolerant... I was about to order a couple!!! glad I asked before ordering.
Which species are intolerant of compacted clay in your opinion??

And of course, I still need to consider the fact that it is hotter and drier around here... which does not seem to be an issue with several species as long as I water them properly.

If you go through the Oaks list on the Aggie Webs site they will comment specifically on which of their listed oaks do well with alkaline solid (and rocky or and/or dry conditions). I found it a useful aid. I'd also talk to Gary over at Oaks of the Wild West in AZ. He likely has experience with oaks in NM as well.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/indexscientific.htm#Q

Quercus Virginiana lives in limestone plenty Florida. You are zone 7, maybe moisture is an issue and Quercus Fusiformis is best for you, sorry, I can't remember those besides Pin oak that DISLIKE alkaline soil.

Matt,
Excellent link... I really like how they discuss soil requirements on most species. Very useful. I'm in touch with Mr. Foss, I'll be getting a few trees from him next week. He has a lot of native live oaks... which are OK, but I'm most interested in deciduous species.

Poaky,
Q. virginiana was widely planted some 10 years ago in El Paso, TX and Las Cruces, NM area. Most of them around parking lots, with very limited water supply. Most of them look awful... but they manage to survive under very harsh conditions. Most got defoliated 2 years ago after a very cold winter.... Mine is about 20', and doing fine.

One last question, is Q. alba an acid lover species? Does it thrive in alkaline soils?

osprey

Alkaline soils are a spectrum...for me, it's heavy clay derived from limestone and has a pH around 7.5. If the clay is anywhere between dry and damp/moist and NOT compacted, most oaks will be fine except for Pin Oak.
Once the clay is compacted, stays very wet, or is overly dry, many of the oak species will show stress (chlorosis). Burr Oak is the most tolerant, followed by Chinquapin Oak, then Shumard Oak. English Oak is also pretty resilient.

Good summary, smivies. I was going to mention those very species.

Osprey - Q. alba is said to "prefer" acid soil.

However, there are a lot of perfectly healthy Q. albas (and other oaks) that grow in Central and Western Ohio, where the soil is a moderately heavy clay with pH from 7.0 to about 7.8 or so.

Seed source might have a lot to do with it.

Very good!! that is good news to me. I have a clay, pH about 7.2-7.5, which I tend to keep moist on all my trees using a dripping system. Under natural conditions, the clay will be bone dry half of the year... and it is not compacted.

Smivies, all the species listed do not show any sign of chlorosis here.... and I started with those due to their known tolerance. However, I don't know much about any other species. Now I want to expand and try other species.

Hairmetal, I planted a very small Q. alba this spring, and it does not show any signs of chlorosis. Of course, it is still very young, and I wont draw any conclusions until a couple of years from now. It didn't do much this year, but we have some brutal weather from May-early July...The source of my tree is unknown, so I cannot comment on that.....

osprey