A native we do not grow
Blue Oak
Quercus douglasii. Medium tree, 20 to 80 feet where planted, zones 6 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.
We do not grow blue oak, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Mountain white oak, mountain oak, California blue oak |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 20 to 80 where planted; up to 94 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 6 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, edible, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Acorns, September to October |
| Pollination | Needs a second, unrelated tree. The flowers are wind pollinated. A blue oak is rarely self fertile, so an acorn crop wants another blue oak nearby. |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings was at least 553 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Planting season | Fall. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources plants seedlings by the end of January, best in mid-December, as March is usually too late. The NRCS plant guide plants in winter. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Dry uplands and rocky ground |
| Native in | 1 state |
Blue oak is native in 1 state: California. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Fire Effects Information System.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of blue oak's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Cal Poly's SelecTree, the Wildflower Center, Calscape, the UC Davis Arboretum, the Jepson eFlora, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Native Plant Network and Earth Interactions.