PlantFiles: Water Oak
Quercus nigra

Very fast grower, and very messy. The leaves are lobe shaped and are very difficult to deal with. They get stuck in the tiniest crevices. They almost continuously drop limbs. Not a good specimen for a tidy landscape.

This plant has many many acorns and in sandy soil it's likely to set root at the drop of a hat.
I have pulled many that have already sent a footlong taproot down to get started.
I have a minimum of a 55 gal barrel of them every year and when they cover the patio it's like walking on marbles.
It's too big to remove so I'll be living with it.
It does make a 150' canopy of shade.
Sidney

This tree grows here in Zone 6b too. My first encounter with it came in fall 2003 (first fall after moving to the country) when I saw a weird leaf rolling on the lawn, very unusually shaped. (Don't have any idea where the tree was that it came from.) I picked it up and hung it in a groove inside the house, thinking it was a rare and bizarre mutation. And then, ridiculous me, I was looking up something else in a tree field guide months later and came across a picture of a tree with leaves just like that! It was the water oak, Quercus nigra. In 2004, I found a baby water oak tree growing on the edge of the lawn. Oh, that reminds me, I have to dig that up and plant it somewhere else before the landlord starts mowing this spring.

Water oak performs best in a forest setting, where it can develop a tall straight trunk and compact crown. When they grow out in the open, they tend to have large lower limbs that are prone to breaking under their weight. For this reason, I say Water oak doesn't make a good yard or street tree.

The leaves are very distinctive on this tree and do not resemble "normal" oak leaves. These are thinner at the branch end and are wider at the outer edges. Leaves are dark green in summer and remain that way until winter when they turn brown (and often remain until spring).

This tree does not like urban settings. It has a beautiful rounded form and can reach anywhere from 60 - 100' at maturity. Good soil conditions are needed for proper growth (not too wet, not to dry, medium coarse soil).

In drought periods, the tree tends to become brittle and can drop large limbs easily. It does grow fast and it can be quite large. I have several that are near 60 years old.

A relatively fast growing oak. Good shade tree and wildlife habitat. Tends to be brittle and therefore drops many twigs and small branches. Semi-evergreen; brown fall/winter foliage, if any. Good choice for open areas of low maintenance where a somewhat fast growing, large tree is needed. Native of the US Gulf and Atlantic coasts and the Lower Mississippi River Valley.