White Oak Tree

White Oak Tree Care, Service and Tips

Any Northeast property that has tree life is likely to have a specimen of the ubiquitous and noteworthy white oak tree (quercus alba). This variety of oak tree sometimes lives for over six hundred years. In the wild white oak trees are known to grow very tall with enormous branches sticking out at broad angles. Despite its name, the white oak tree is characterized by a grayish and scaly bark marked with shallow rivets. In general, a mature white oak tree will range from 85-100 feet. Oftentimes its large width is equal to its height.

White oak tree flowers appear in May during leaf growth, appearing like single spikes among the leaves. They are a few inches long, bright yellow, and hairy. Male flowers will grow to be green, while female flowers are reddish. Its young spring leaves are silvery pink and covered in a light down. The petioles (stalk of a leaf, where the blade attaches to the stem) are short and the leaves near the end of the shoots are pale green with a similar down covering. They maintain this frosty appearance for several days before going through a color cycle of soft pink, to grayish white and eventually light green. When white oak leaves mature, they turn a deep glossy green before darkening to reddish brown in autumn. Another distinct characteristic of white oak tree is the change in bark texture. Midway up the tree it transitions from its riveted look to overlapping plates.

The wood of the white oak tree has long been considered ideal for a wide variety of purposes. It's used frequently in Japanese martial arts. The great density and strength make it unlikely to splinter if broken. The United States Constitution is made from white oak! Its history in North America reaches back even further. Native Americans used to boil and eat the acorns. The white oak tree is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland.

If you’d like to establish white oak trees in your landscape, we can connect you with a pre-vetted landscape expert that can help you purchase and plant new white oak trees. For a complimentary consultation with a certified arborist, contact the location nearest you.

Tree Service and Care for the White Oak Tree

The white oak tree is hardy and comfortable in different habitats, including highlands and valley beds with dry or moist conditions. This variety of oak tree can do well in residential neighborhoods where the environment can be monitored and controlled. However, without tree service, white oak trees do not flourish easily in urban conditions where changes in soil level and compaction often occur. It does best in deep, coarse, wet, well-drained and slightly acidic soil. White oak trees work well as a shade tree due to its width and branch strength. They very rarely drop. Furthermore, of all oak tree varieties, white oak trees are the most resistant to disease and insects.

Click or call today to arrange a complimentary consultation from our fully trained and certified arborists for tree service, tree fungus treatment and tree pruning for your white oak tree. Contact the office nearest you.