Swamp Chestnut Oak is a medium-sized native deciduous tree with a tight narrow rounded crown and flaky ridged bark. The large shiny green foliage has wavy margins with a fuzzy grey underside and turns dark red in fall. The inconspicuous spring flowers are followed by edible acorns that ripen in early fal. Best grown in full sun and loamy moist well-drained acidic soils. Tolerates wet soils and occasional flooding. Swamp Chestnut Oak is popular with wildlife once it starts producing acorns, and has one of the few acorns that can be eaten directly without boiling.
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Type:
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Tree
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Origns:
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Southeast N. America; GA Native
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Height:
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40’ - 60’
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Spread:
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30’ - 50’
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Spacing:
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40’
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USDA Hardiness Zone:
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5 - 9
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Culture:
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Full Sun, Part Sun
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Bloom Color:
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Yellow (Male), Red (Female)
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Season of Interest:
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Fall
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MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low Maintenance. Chlorosis is common in alkaline or neutral soils. Oaks are susceptible to a large number of diseases, including oak wilt, blight, root rot, anthracnose, oak leaf blister, cankers, leaf spots, and powdery mildew. Potential insect pests include scale, oak skeletonizer, leaf miner, galls, oak lace bugs, borers, caterpillars and nut weevils.
LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Naturalized Areas, Wildlife Gardens, Privacy Screen, and Shade Tree.
COMPANION PLANTS: Magnolia, Burning Bush, Crape Myrtle
IMAGES: Famartin, 2019-11-29 11 54 01 Swamp Chestnut Oak leaves in late autumn along a walking path in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia, CC BY-SA 4.0
*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.
