Botanical name: Quercus palustris
Family: Fagaceae (beech)
Group: red oak

Click on images of Pin Oak to enlarge.

A.K.A. swamp oak, spanish swamp oak, water oak

• Native
• Hardwood
• Deciduous
• Monoecious
• Height 55-75′ sometimes reaching over 110′
• Capable of producing a trunk diameter in excess of 5′
• Light to medium furrowed grey bark furrows deepen with age
• Rapid growth rate
• Broad crown spreading 20-50′ pyramidal shape when young tends to become more oval (upright) with age
• Branches are often found on the lower parts of the trunk nearer the ground and tend to hang downward
• Alternate leaf pattern
• Leaf is dark green about 5-6″ long and have 3-7 lobes with bristle teeth on tips
• Sinuses are deeply U shaped and are the same size as the leaf itself.
• Flowers in the spring when leaves appear
• Fruit is a small .25-.5″ acorn with a shallow, thin cap that matures in two seasons
• Fibrous root system regenerates quickly so it transplants well and is one of the most commonly planted trees, but needs plenty of room to grow.
• Timber is used for construction and firewod
• Needs acidic pH 5-6.5 soils. Soils that are too alkaline (above a pH of 7) tends to cause iron chlorosis, a reduction or loss of green color
• Wet soil is favorable – bottomlands and very moist upland areas
• While pin oak does not fair well with growing season flooding it is
• Full to partial sun that does not do well in shaded areas
• Pest that may affect pin oaks are scarlet oak sawfly (premature dropping of leaves or skeletonized leaves), gypsy moth caterpillars, red oak borer, flat head bores (two-lined chectnut borers), gouty oak gall and horned oak gall (caused by wasp laying their eggs in the twigs) and oak wilt (a fungus that is passed on by beetles that feed on sap and root grafts). Same as pest, oak wilt can be moved in firewood.
• Zones 4-8