Native Plant of the Week: Pin Oak

Family: Fagaceae

Name: Quercus palustris - Pin Oak

Bloom Time: April - May

Flower: Yellow-green

Soil Condition: Average, Wet, Acidic

Light: Sun - Partial Sun

Height: 50-70' tall by 40-60' wide

Native Range: Northeastern United States including Long Island

Zone: 4 - 8

Photos: 1) Leaves (Manuel, CC BY 2.0), 2) Fall color leaf and acorn (Jim Robbins, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and 3) The beautiful form of Pin Oak in Avalon Preserve, NY (KMS Native Plants)

Pin Oak is the fastest-growing of all the oaks in the red oak family. Its foliage is a lovely shiny green and the fall color is a stunning bronze red. It is very adaptable and tolerates drought and air pollution making it a great street tree or great specimen tree.

Maintenance: Must have acidic soil.

Benefits: host plant to Gray Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Horace's Duskywing, and many more, provides food for birds and mammals and numerous insects,

Fun Facts: Pin Oak has the smallest leaves and acorns of all the Oaks. Will not produce fruits until it is 15-20 years old.

Companion Plants: Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Blue-eyed Grass, Asarum canadense - Wild Ginger, Carex pensylvanica - Oak Sedge, Solidago odora - Sweet Goldenrod

=============================================================

References:

1. https://newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=1516

2. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/quercus-palustris/

#pollinatorplants #gardeningwithnativeplants #indigenousplants #nativeplants #wildlifeplants #nativetrees #bestfallcolor