Northern Red Oak Tree Seeds (Quercus rubra)

The fastest oak in North America. The one that feeds everything.

Quercus rubra, the Northern Red Oak, is the fastest-growing native oak in eastern North America and one of the most important ecological trees on the continent. It establishes more quickly than any other large oak, tolerates urban soils and pollution better than most, and develops into a massive, wide-spreading shade tree within decades rather than generations. Its acorns, while bitter compared to White Oak, are produced in extraordinary quantities in good mast years and consumed by deer, turkey, bear, blue jays, and over 100 other species. As a host plant for hundreds of native moth and butterfly caterpillars, a Northern Red Oak in a landscape supports more insect biodiversity than almost any other tree you can plant. If you are looking to buy Northern Red Oak seeds or grow red oak from seed, this is the oak that delivers the fastest results with the broadest ecological impact.

• The fastest-growing native oak in North America, gaining 2 to 3 feet per year in ideal conditions
• Hosts over 500 species of native caterpillars, more than almost any other tree genus in North America
• Brilliant scarlet to russet-red fall color, one of the best fall displays of any native shade tree
• Adaptable to urban soils, pollution, compacted ground, and a wide range of pH
• Produces heavy acorn crops in mast years, one of the most important wildlife food trees in the East

Things you probably did not know about the Northern Red Oak

A single mature Red Oak can support over 500 caterpillar species. Douglas Tallamy's landmark research on native plant ecology documented that oak trees support more species of leaf-eating caterpillars than any other plant genus in eastern North America. These caterpillars are the primary food source for nesting songbirds. A single pair of chickadees raising a clutch of young needs 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars over a 16-day nesting period. Without oaks, and the caterpillars they support, songbird populations collapse.

The acorns take two years to mature. Red Oak acorns begin developing in the summer of one year and do not ripen until the fall of the following year, a two-year maturation cycle that is characteristic of all Red Oak group members. The bitter tannins that accumulate over this longer development period protect the acorns from premature consumption and are partly broken down through natural processes after the acorns fall.

Blue jays are responsible for planting millions of Red Oaks per year. Blue jays carry up to five acorns at a time in their esophagus and cache them in the ground as a winter food supply. They remember most of their cache locations but forget enough that the unclaimed acorns germinate and establish. Studies have estimated that a single blue jay can plant several thousand acorns per year, making them one of the most important seed dispersers for forest regeneration after logging or disturbance.

The wood is the most widely used red oak timber in North American furniture making. Northern Red Oak lumber is the primary wood used in American furniture, flooring, cabinetry, and millwork because of its wide availability, consistent grain, and competitive cost. The characteristic ray fleck pattern visible when the wood is quarter-sawn is one of the most recognizable features of red oak interior woodwork across North America.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Quercus rubra
• Stratification: Required, 30 to 60 days cold moist stratification, recalcitrant seed, keep moist
• USDA Zones: 3 to 9
• Soil: Prefers well-drained, slightly acidic soil but adapts to a wide range of conditions
• Light: Full sun to partial shade
• Height: 60 to 90 feet
• Spread: 60 to 75 feet
• Growth Rate: Fast, 2 to 3 feet per year

Plant it for the caterpillars, the acorns, and the fall color. One tree does all three better than almost anything else you can put in the ground.