#Pin oak leaves full#

The easiest way to grow a pin oak in your garden landscape is to purchase a quality specimen from a reputable nursery. This helps ensure that the strong roots don’t damage the foundation. Therefore, plant a pin oak at least 20 to 30 ft. All oaks - including the pin oak - grow relatively large. As the pin oak becomes established, watering is rarely an issue.Īnother consideration when planting a pin oak tree is its height and width. The planting site should be well-draining but hold enough moisture to keep the tree’s roots relatively moist.

#Pin oak leaves full#

The best location for planting a pin oak tree is in full sun where it can grow in neutral to acidic soil. A pin oak grows in loamy, acidic, well-drained, fertile and damp soils. They also transplant well if you need to change their location. Pin oaks are ideal landscaping trees in USDA zones 4 through 8 because they adapt easily to urban conditions and clay soils. A distinctive feature of a pin oak is its unique branching pattern - lower branches point downward, middle branches are horizontal, and upper branches are ascending. Pin Oak Tree IdentificationĪ pin oak tree is identified by its growth habit, leathery, dark-green, deeply lobed leaves with bristled tips, and dark brown globular acorns in a scaly tan cap. However, the nuts aren’t as sweet as acorns from species of white oak trees, some of which can be consumed straight off the tree. It takes between 15 and 20 years before a pin oak produces acorns.Īre pin oak acorns edible? You can eat acorns from a pin oak after leeching the tannins to remove the bitter taste. Like most species of red oaks, pin oak acorns mature in two seasons. Pin oak acorns measure 0.4” to 0.6” (10 to 16 mm) long and 0.35” to 0.6” (9 – 15 mm) in diameter. The scaly cap covers less than one-third of the acorn, and there is a pointed apex on the rounded top. The rounded, barrel-shaped nuts sit in a shallow, thin, light-brown bumpy cap. Pin oak trees are identified by their globular dark brown acorns with a reasonably flat top. What is Northern Pin Oak ( Quercus ellipsoidalis ) Related reading: Types of Florida oak trees. According to some sources, pin oaks are one of the most common oak trees used in landscaping. The tree’s dense foliage and spreading crown are ideal for providing shade on hot summer days. The most common uses for pin oaks in a landscape are specimen trees or shade trees. The common name pin oak comes from the tree’s growth habit where lower branches break off, leaving pin-like stubs on the grayish-brown trunk. Other names for Quercus palustris are the swamp Spanish oak, water oak, and swamp oak. Its shallow, fibrous root system means the pin oak can withstand wet soils and soil compaction and even tolerate flood conditions. However, it doesn’t tolerate poorly-drained soils.Ī pin oak tree has a fast growth habit and can grow around 24” (60 cm) per year in ideal conditions. The hardy oak tree tolerates drought, heat, pollution, and soil compaction. Like all types of oak trees, pin oaks thrive in full sun and perform best when grown in moist, well-drained soil. Pin oaks are suitable for growing in USDA zones 4 through 8. This makes the oak tree an attractive winter landscape tree with its drooping bronze or russet-red foliage, creating plenty of colors when other trees have lost their leaves.

They are rounded, barrel-shaped nuts and measure up to 0.5” (13 mm) wide.Ī distinctive feature of young pin oak trees is that their deciduous leaves remain on the branches throughout winter. In the fall, pin oak acorns are mature and ready for harvesting. Pin oak trees have pointed, lobed leaves that measure on average 5” (13 cm) long and 4” (10 cm) wide. A feature of pin oaks is that their lower branches tend to droop, middle branches grow horizontally, and upper branches upward. Pin oaks belong to the group of red oak trees and are recognized by their pyramidal to oval crown. The pin oak tree ( Quercus palustris) is a fast-growing tree in the genus Quercus. Young and mature pin oak trees (Quercus palustris)