PlantFiles: Live Oak
Quercus virginiana

We have many live oak trees here in Oak View, California. However, I am not aware of the correct name for the type we have. I live in the Ojai Valley -- does anyone know the name of the live oaks that grow here? There are also other varieties of oaks in Ojai...they are not the 'live' type and have different leaf formations. My oaks have long, hanging blooms and rather small acorns. The leaves have rather sharp points. There are hundreds/thousands of them in my area...over one hundred on my property alone. They overhang our streets and barrancas as well.

Although they are overplanted in some communities, live oak is a good tree to plant in hurricane prone areas. Even in 100mph winds, they suffer little damage. The only downside is that they are evergreen. If you like plenty of sunshine during the winter, this may not be the tree for you.

Oldest species is in South Carolina-1400 years old. Angel Island Oak. Awesome to see!

I just love Live Oaks. They are my favorite tree for the South, so stately, and well, Southern looking.

I have two fairly mature and well-limbed up/well-tended ones in my front yard next to the street (and in front of the circular drive) as a sort of 'matched' set on either side of the walkway up to my house. Based on the size of them, they are likely close to 40 years old.

I recently came upon a live oak growing (and still green in mid January!) in Central Park in New York City. It's just above 72nd street not far from the Bethesda Terrace. At first I thought it might be a laurel oak so I took a leaf home with me for a better ID. Sure enough it was Quercus virginiana, although it wasn't stately like those growing down south but was still a great find. I'm curious what the hardiness rating for Central Park really is considering that it's in the middle of a giant heat island. Records show that NYC's record all-time low temperature is only 4F so in terms of average annual minimum temperatures it might really be a zone 7b/8a microclimate.

I bought seedlings from the Texas Forest Service (Quercus virginiana) about 4 years ago and planted them in Oxford, MS. This is zone 7a where it has been known to go down below zero (but not in the last 3 years). The tree zone guide on this site says zone 8a is the lowest.

I have 10 trees, the largest about 4 ft tall and they all seem to be doing good. I havent seen any live oaks in Oxford except at Home Depot where they recently started selling them but saw them growing in Memphis TN (65 miles north) and at least one in Tupelo MS (50 miles west) so I thought it might not be too cold here.

I would be interested to see if anyone else has had sucess in zone 7a. The trees I've seen in Texas and southern MS and LA are definitely worth planting.

The live oak should really be called the "subtropical oak". Its native range also includes the bahamas and cuba...where it is called encino. Nothing beats the majestic beauty of a grandfather live oak tree.

One of the evergreen glories of the landscape in the southern U.S. Here in Natchez, Mississippi, they grace virtually all of the stately antebellum mansions and many other properties, providing an immense and awesome canopy, host to many epiphytes such as Tillandsia usneoides, Polypodium polypodioides, and others. Their natural range is from Virginia down to Key West and westward along the gulf-coast area to eastern Mexico. Remember that these trees can alter the microclimate of your area by a half-zone, so they are very desirable for winter protection of tender or semi-tender plants in marginal areas. Moderately fast-growing while young, then they slow down a bit, eventually becoming quite spreading, so before planting, make sure there's room for future expansion!

It's better than nothing and it's better than an exotic but to say it's overplanted in my region of the state would be an understatement. I have two in my yard. I don't find them all that interesting. I think the old trees are nice looking obviously but these trees offer very little shade and on a more selfish note, they hurt if you brush up against them and the prickley branches scratch the cars if you drive near them. I used to think it would take about 150 years to get them to arch over roadways but it only takes about 30 if planted close enough to the street. These are very resiliant here and I would say that they transplant with a good success rate. Certainly not one of the more creative tree planting ideas but the wildlife doesn't seem to mind.

I bought a 6-foot specimen a year ago and it has done well growing at a fairly good rate (for oaks). It has a foot of new gorwth and is putting out its last flush before winter. The trees themselves can spread to immense propartions. They are not native to my region but two or three large evergreen oaks in the area are what I believe to be live oaks.

Currently trying this wonderful (and personal favorite) of all oaks in Douglasville Georgia (zone 7B). I was looking for a tree on a hill I have that would give immense spread, but not more than 70 feet in height. I found a lovely container grown specimen, about 8 feet tall on 04/03/04. So far it has been in the ground about 3 weeks, and has already nearly leafed out fully, (had just dropped when I bought it), and also has added over 1" of new growth on all branches. Any members please feel free to contact me about this Live Oak, or any info you may have on yours. [e-mail:dragonshade1@hotmail.com]

For our Spanish speaking friends: Este árbol se denomina en español "encino" y es muy común en el sur de los Estados Unidos y el norte de México. Es un árbol nativo de esta región. Verde todo el año.

I have several dozen huge and old specimens of Live Oak growing on my six acre property in the Suwannee River Valley of North Central Florida, zone 8b. This area has the largest stands of these trees left in Florida, and my property is situated on a limestone "ridge" just within the edge of a 10 mile long "Oak Hammock," which is a special eco-system very favorable for these trees' growth.

Live Oaks, contrary to common opinion, are not slow growers. They are often confused with Sand Live Oaks (Quercus geminata) which is a slow growing, smaller oak. Young trees, when not rootbound for years in a pot before planting, and given lots of water after planting, will grow with amazing rapidity to a large size within 10 to 15 years, so anyone living in their growing range, needing shade, should consider planting this, the "King of Trees."

The survival of my Live Oaks is not due to any generosity on the part of the early settlers. "Old Town" is the name given to this area by the Native American population, and until General Jackson fought his southernmost battle here in about 1818, I believe, in the Seminole Wars, there was a large Native American village here of ancient duration. After the native population was driven out, the area was quickly settled by Scotch-Irish-English immigrants who ran cattle, tapped turpentine, and eventually cut down the vast tracts of cypress. But the already huge live oaks were too curved and too difficult to hand-saw to be of any commercial use. The last use of these trees was for building wooden battle ships, and I have read that "Old Ironsides," the US Constitution, was built from over 2,000 Live Oak trees cut in South Carolina. The wood was so hard and so dense that cannon balls couldn't penetrate it. But by the time there was equipment powerful enough to cut down these trees, there was no longer any demand for them, as ship buiding had moved on to steel, so these wonderful giants were spared and still live on to grace our lives today.

I have seen the oldest Live Oak in Florida, in Highland Hammocks State Park, near Sebring, Florida. It is over 1,000 years old and has parts of its decaying trunk filled with some type of cement-like mortar, and some of its branches are propped up with scaffolding, but it still lives on, amazing visitors with its ancient beauty.

Live oak is a shrubby to large and spreading, long-lived, nearly evergreen tree. It drops its leaves and grows new leaves within several weeks in the spring. Mature trees average 50 feet in height. The rounded crowns may span 150 feet or more. Lower limbs sweep to the ground and then curve upward. Trees usually have rounded clumps of ball
moss or thick drapings of spanish moss. Live oak grows in moist to dry sites. It withstands occasional floods,
but not constant saturation. It is resistant to salt spray and high soil salinity. Live oak grows best in well-drained sandy soils and loams but also grows in clay and alluvial soils.