Laurel Oak

Size, growth and what to expect

It grows fast, about 2.75 feet a year in our growth estimator. Trees on the University of Georgia campus reached about 65 feet in thirty years, some 40 feet across. Expect 40 to 60 feet with a crown 30 to 40 feet wide, and a life of about 50 to 70 years.

It flowers in March, and the acorns ripen in October and November of the following year. The acorns are about half an inch long and dark brown to black, the cup covering up to a third. First crops come at 15 to 20 years, and large crops are regular. Deer, raccoons, squirrels, wild turkeys, ducks and quail eat them.

It grows wild on the Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to east Texas. Virginia's natural heritage program lists it among the state's rare plants.

How to grow Laurel Oak

Laurel oak wants full sun or part shade. It grows best in a well-drained, acid, sandy loam, and it takes drought once rooted. A soil above pH 7 often yellows the leaves. Give it a planting strip at least 8 feet wide, since its flaring trunk base lifts sidewalks and curbs in narrower ones. Set trees 30 feet apart, and keep each one 20 feet from a wall and more than 50 feet from overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. On upland sand it develops a large taproot, so plant it young. Plant dormant saplings from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Laurel oak acorns have only a mild dormancy, and they sprout the spring after they fall. Sow them in fall half an inch deep under hardware cloth. For spring, hold them damp in the refrigerator for four to twelve weeks first.

Water every week or two through the first summer, then only in a long drought. NC State lists it as resistant to deer, but a tube or cage for the first two years keeps deer and rabbits off the young stem. Train it to one central trunk early. Prune a little every year so you only ever cut small branches, since a large cut can start a column of decay many feet long.

The flowers are wind pollinated, and an acorn crop wants another oak nearby. As a red oak, prune it only in the dormant season, so fresh cuts do not draw the beetles that spread oak wilt. Its trunk and big limbs often hollow with decay as it ages, and even a light ground fire can kill it. Mites, scale, aphids and gall wasps turn up, and borers attack stressed trees.