Pin oak

Sun

Full sun; tolerates light shade but develops a better crown in an open position.

Water

Moderate to high; prefers consistently moist ground and tolerates seasonal flooding once established, but not prolonged drought.

Soil

Acidic, moisture-retentive soil, ideally around pH 5.0-6.5. Tolerates clay and periodically wet ground; avoid chalk, limestone and alkaline fill.

Height

50-70 ft (15-21 m), occasionally taller

Spread

25-40 ft (7.6-12 m)

Flowers

Spring: inconspicuous yellow-green male catkins and tiny female flowers.

Foliage

Glossy green leaves with deep, rounded sinuses and pointed, bristle-tipped lobes. Autumn colour ranges from bronze to scarlet; young trees may retain brown leaves through winter.

Growth

Moderate to fast when young, commonly 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) a year in suitable conditions.

Care needed

Medium

• Cold hardy
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2.2 m)

2. After 1 year

   10 ft (3.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   14 ft (4.1 m)

4. After 3 years

   17 ft (5.1 m)

5. After 5 years

   23 ft (7.1 m)

About 16 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the US and Canada

Growth rate

Fast

• Test soil pH before planting; choose another tree if the ground is alkaline rather than relying on repeated iron treatments.
• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two to three growing seasons, keeping the root ball moist but not continuously saturated.
• Spread a 2-3 in (5-8 cm) layer of organic mulch over the root area, leaving the trunk clear.
• Plant with the root flare visible at soil level; allow room for the mature crown and drooping lower branches.
• Avoid routine feeding unless a soil test identifies a deficiency.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in wind, and remove supports after establishment.

Pruning. Prune young trees during winter dormancy to retain one main leader and gradually establish any necessary clearance beneath the crown. Where oak wilt occurs, follow local restrictions on pruning dates, avoid spring and early-summer pruning, and use a qualified arborist for large limbs.

Autumn

Plant while the soil is workable and moist; in very cold regions, plant in early spring instead.

Winter

Check the young tree's structure and remove competing leaders or damaged branches during suitable dormant weather.

Spring

Refresh mulch without piling it against the trunk; check ties and remove unnecessary stakes.

Late spring

Inspect new leaves for yellowing between green veins, especially where soil may be alkaline.

Summer

Water young trees deeply during dry weather and keep machinery off the root area.

Late autumn

Collect fallen acorns where horses graze or pets repeatedly eat them; compost or shred leaves for mulch.

• Use as a specimen on a large lawn, allowing its lower branches to sweep naturally toward the ground.
• Plant in spacious avenues where there is enough room for roots and the mature crown.
• Place in the upper margins of a large rain garden or seasonally wet landscape with acidic soil.
• Combine with moisture-loving shrubs and woodland-edge planting for layered autumn colour.

Garden styles it suits: Grand estate, Traditional, Woodland, Wildlife garden, Autumn colour and English manor.

Plant it with: Sweet pepperbush, Virginia sweetspire, Winterberry, Red chokeberry, Cinnamon fern and Tussock sedge.

Wildlife: Acorns feed squirrels, jays, deer and other wildlife. The foliage supports many moth and butterfly caterpillars within its native range, and mature trees provide nesting and shelter.

• Iron chlorosis: leaves turn yellow between green veins on alkaline soil. Confirm soil pH; arborist-applied treatments may help temporarily, but replacement with a soil-suited tree is often the lasting solution.
• Oak wilt: can cause rapid wilting and death in affected parts of North America. Seek prompt local diagnosis, observe pruning restrictions and do not move potentially infected firewood.
• Leaf scorch during drought: brown leaf edges can follow dry soil and heat. Water deeply, mulch and protect roots from compaction.
• Leaf and twig galls: usually cosmetic. Leave minor infestations alone; have extensive twig dieback assessed rather than spraying routinely.

Acorns and leaves contain tannins and can poison horses, dogs, cats and people if enough is eaten, causing digestive upset and potentially kidney damage. Horses are particularly at risk with sustained access to fallen acorns or young foliage. Acorns also pose a choking or intestinal blockage risk to pets; do not treat raw acorns as edible nuts.

• Northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

  Has similarly deeply cut leaves but generally favours dry, sandy ground; its acorns are more elongated than pin oak's rounded acorns.

• Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)

  Often has broader leaves and larger acorns with deeper cups; the acorn tip commonly shows concentric rings. It lacks pin oak's consistently drooping lower branches.

• Northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

  Leaves have much shallower cuts between the lobes, and the larger acorns sit in broad, shallow, saucer-like cups.

Quercus is the Latin name for oak, palustris means 'of marshes', and 'pin oak' refers to the short, pin-like dead branchlets often retained on the trunk.

Propagation. Grow from fresh, sound acorns. Keep them moist and protected from rodents through a cold winter, either outdoors in deep pots or under controlled cold, moist conditions, then allow them to germinate in spring. Seedlings vary in autumn colour.

Accepted botanical name

Quercus palustris

In the US and Canada

Native in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Masachusettes.

Measured

Average height 2500 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.