Pin Oak

Quercus palustris (Fagaceae) is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America from Massachusetts to Wisconsin and south to Oklahoma and Virginia. It grows 60 to 75 feet tall with a distinctive pyramidal shape: upper branches ascend, middle branches are horizontal, and lower branches droop. The deeply lobed, bristle-tipped leaves turn red to bronze in autumn.

Pin oak is one of the most widely planted native oaks due to its fast growth, attractive form, and easy transplanting (fibrous root system, unlike most oaks). It thrives in full sun on moist, acidic soil. On alkaline soils it develops severe iron chlorosis (interveinal yellowing). The persistent lower branches and persistent dead leaves (marcescence) can be drawbacks in some landscape settings. Hardy in Zones 4a to 8b.