Photo: Doug Goldman, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Bluff Oak

Quercus austrina

A southern white oak of river bluffs and bottomland edges that grows into a straight-trunked shade tree, and one most nurseries still do not carry.

RareWildlife valueDrought tolerantTolerates wet soilFall colorStreet tree

Type: Medium tree
Mature height: 40–60 ft
USDA zones: 5–9
Growth rate: Medium
Sun: Full
Soil moisture: Dry, Average, Wet
Grows wild in: Floodplain forests and stream banks
Native range: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina See what is native in your state

Hardiness zones Find your zone by ZIP code

Bluff oak is a white oak of the southern coastal plain that Flora of North America calls probably the most misunderstood oak of the Southeast. It is widespread but sparse, common only in a few local stands. It is often mistaken for Durand oak, or for water oak, a red oak with leaves of the same shape. It is becoming endangered in some areas, and North Carolina ranks it critically imperiled. Line a street or a long drive with it, or give it the low, moist edge of a big lawn.

Size, growth and what to expect

Bluff oak grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. Planted, it makes a shade tree of 40 to 60 feet with a crown 35 to 50 feet across. Wild trees reach 75 feet.

It flowers from March to May, and as in every white oak the acorns ripen the same year, in mid to late fall. They run half an inch to an inch long, in a cup of gray scales that covers a third to half of the nut. Squirrels and other mammals eat them.

It grows wild in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states, from southeastern North Carolina to southern Mississippi and into Florida. Its home is rich, well-drained bottomland along streams and beside river bluffs, as well as wet forests, flatwoods and hardwood hummocks.

How to grow Bluff Oak

Bluff oak wants full sun and a deep, well-drained soil of sand, loam or clay, on the acid side. It rides out drought once rooted and takes a spell of flooding by a stream or pond, but it does not tolerate salt. Set trees 30 feet apart, and keep each one 25 feet from a wall and more than 50 feet from overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and deep enough for the taproot. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. White oak acorns sprout soon after they fall. Sow them on arrival, an inch deep, under hardware cloth.

Water every week or two through the first summer. Deer browse young oaks, so guard each sapling with a tube or cage for its first three years. It needs little pruning, since the trunk tends to run straight up through the crown. Take off any second leader while the tree is young.

Oaks are wind pollinated, and an acorn crop wants another oak nearby. Pests and diseases seldom do real harm. Oak wilt, anthracnose, cankers, leaf spots and powdery mildew can show up, and a soil that is too alkaline yellows the leaves.

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

Sources (8)

Plan the planting