A native we do not grow
Valley Oak
Quercus lobata. Large tree, 30 to 100 feet, zones 7 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow valley 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 | California white oak, valley white oak, weeping oak |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 100 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 7 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, edible, winter interest, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to April |
| Fruit | Acorns, August to November |
| 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 600 years, and the oldest dated one was at least 314. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Planting season | Fall. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advises sowing acorns once fall rains wet the soil and planting seedlings by the end of January, as March is usually too late. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Toxicity | The acorns and leaves are poisonous to horses. |
| Ground | Floodplain forests and stream banks |
| Native in | 1 state |
Valley oak is native in 1 state: California. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from 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 valley oak's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Read from
Its figures come from the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, the UC Davis Arboretum, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Calscape and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.