# Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)

> A big red oak for shade, with deeply cut leaves that turn red early in fall, at home on moist bottomland or on dry, limy ground.

Also called Shumard's oak, Shumard red oak, Schneck oak, Quercus schneckii. Category: Rare & Uncommon Oaks. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/shumard-oak/

![Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) crown of deeply lobed leaves with bristle-tipped points](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/shumard-oak-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AQuercus_shumardii_in_Hackfalls_Arboretum_%282%29.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Large tree
- Mature height: 50 to 80 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 9
- Grows wild in: Rich moist slopes, floodplain forests, stream banks and dry uplands
- Native range: 23 states, north to Michigan, south to Florida and west to Texas (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia)
- Sun: Full
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Medium
- Traits: Fall color, Wildlife value, Drought tolerant, Street tree
- Sold as: Saplings, Acorns

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

## Availability

Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed.

## Notes

Shumard oak is one of the largest southern red oaks, scattered among other hardwoods on moist, well-drained ground near streams. It is named for Benjamin Franklin Shumard, a state geologist of Texas. Tufts of hair in the vein angles beneath the leaf tell it from northern red oak. It is little troubled by the yellowing that alkaline soil causes in many oaks. Two oaks we also grow, Texas red oak and maple-leaf oak, were once counted varieties of it. Plant it as a long-lived shade tree for a big lawn, a park or a wide street.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Shumard oak grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator, and faster on rich, moist ground. Expect 50 to 80 feet with a crown 30 to 50 feet wide. On good bottomland it passes 100 feet, and one tree in a blue ash savanna had lived 480 years.

It flowers in March and April, and the acorns ripen and fall in September and October of their second year. They are about an inch long and egg-shaped, set in a thick, shallow cup, and many hold more than one seed. Songbirds, wild turkeys, waterfowl, deer and squirrels eat them. The leaves are often the first of the oaks to turn red in fall.

It grows wild from North Carolina to northern Florida and west to central Texas, and up the Mississippi Valley to Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Farther north it is local, and New York and Pennsylvania list it as endangered and Maryland as threatened.

## How to grow Shumard Oak

Shumard oak wants full sun and a deep, moist, well-drained soil, and it grows fastest on rich ground near streams. It also takes clay, alkaline soil and drought. It tolerates brief flooding but not long standing water. It handles city conditions well, including polluted air and compacted soil. 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. The taproot grows deep within two seasons, so plant saplings young. Plant them dormant, 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. Red oak acorns need a winter before they sprout, and they die if they dry out. Sow them in fall an inch deep under hardware cloth. For spring, hold them damp in the refrigerator for 60 to 120 days first.

Water every week or two through the first summer, then only in a long drought. Deer browse young Shumard oaks, so guard each sapling with a tube or cage for its first three years. Young trees often fork, so train one central leader early and keep the side branches under half the width of the trunk.

The flowers are wind pollinated, and an acorn crop wants another oak nearby. As a red oak it is highly susceptible to oak wilt, which can kill a tree within months. Prune only in the dormant season, never in late spring or early summer. Trees begin to bear at about 25 years, with good crops every 2 or 3 years. Acorn weevils spoil some acorns, and oak leaf blister spots the leaves in some years.

## Sources

- [USDA Forest Service, Silvics of North America: Shumard Oak, Edwards 1990](https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/shumard-oak)
- [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Quercus shumardii, Sullivan 1993](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/queshu)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide and conservation sheet: Shumard's Oak, Quercus shumardii, Nesom 2000](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_qush.pdf)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Quercus chapter, Bonner](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Quercus.pdf)
- [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Quercus shumardii](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501082)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Quercus shumardii](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/quercus-shumardii/)
- [UF/IFAS Extension, ENH-719/ST561: Quercus shumardii, Shumard Oak](https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST561)
- [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Quercus shumardii](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280724)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Quercus shumardii](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUSH)
- [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Quercus shumardii, Coombes and Cameron 2026](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-shumardii/)
- [Missouri Department of Conservation Field Guide: Shumard Oak](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/shumard-oak)
- [Virginia Tech Dendrology: Shumard oak](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=169)
- [Oaks of the World, Jean-Louis Hélardot: Quercus shumardii](http://oaks.of.the.world.free.fr/quercus_shumardii.htm)
- [New York Natural Heritage Program: Shumard oak](https://guides.nynhp.org/shumard-oak/)
- [Pennsylvania Code, 17 Pa. Code chapter 45, § 45.12 Pennsylvania Endangered](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/017/chapter45/chap45toc.html&d=reduce)
- [Maryland Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of Maryland, 2021](https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Documents/rte_Plant_List.pdf)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Quercus shumardii](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.158440/Quercus_shumardii)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Organic or synthetic fertilizer: how they differ and what a tree needs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/organic-or-synthetic-fertilizer/index.html.md)
- [Why leaves turn red and yellow in fall, and which native trees give each color](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-leaves-turn-red-and-yellow-in-fall/index.html.md)
- [Red oaks and white oaks, and where each belongs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/red-oaks-and-white-oaks/index.html.md)

## Related

- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Shumard Oak, add ?species=shumard-oak with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=shumard-oak&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average.
- [Companion species for Shumard Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=shumard-oak): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=shumard-oak
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Shumard Oak is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=shumard-oak
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Shumard Oak needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=shumard-oak:2
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Shumard Oak flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.