# Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)

> Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea: a large tree of 40 to 80 feet for zones 4 to 9, when it flowers and fruits, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/scarlet-oak/

![A scarlet oak with a broad crown of bright red fall leaves at the edge of a roadside thicket under a blue sky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/scarlet-oak-2-1000.jpg?v=d72c7794 "A scarlet oak in fall color along Interstate 95 in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, on November 15, 2015. Its acorns take two growing seasons to mature.")
*Photo: Famartin, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2015-11-15_14_45_05_Scarlet_Oak_in_autumn_along_Interstate_95_in_Hopewell_Township%2C_Mercer_County%2C_New_Jersey.jpg))*

Large tree, 40 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry or average ground.

We do not grow scarlet 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

| Fact | Scarlet Oak |
| --- | --- |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 80 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 75 |
| Zones | 4 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value |
| Flowers | April to May |
| Fruit | Acorns, September to November |
| First crop | 20 years (most after 50; good crops every 3 to 5 years) |
| Pollination | Needs a second, unrelated tree. The flowers are wind pollinated, and an acorn crop wants another oak nearby, since oaks seldom set acorns with their own pollen. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 250 years, and the oldest dated one reached 193. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on scarlet oak says: "Difficult to transplant due to a deep taproot." |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list |
| Toxicity | The leaves and acorns are poisonous to people and horses. |
| Ground | Dry uplands, sandy barrens and the Appalachians |
| Native in | 28 states and the District of Columbia |

Scarlet oak is native in 28 states and the District of Columbia: [Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=scarlet-oak): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=scarlet-oak:2): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Pignut Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/pignut-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya glabra*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares dry uplands and sandy barrens in the wild.
- [Black Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus velutina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares dry uplands and sandy barrens in the wild.
- [Mockernut Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mockernut-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya tomentosa*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares dry uplands and sandy barrens in the wild.
- [Red Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya ovalis*): large tree, 60 to 100 feet, zones 4 to 8. Shares dry uplands and the Appalachians in the wild.
- [Northern Red Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-red-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus rubra*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 3 to 8. Shares dry uplands and the Appalachians in the wild.
- [Southern Red Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/southern-red-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus falcata*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 6 to 9. Shares dry uplands and sandy barrens in the wild.
- [Every companion of scarlet oak in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=scarlet-oak)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.