# Water Oak (Quercus nigra)

> Water oak, Quercus nigra: a large tree of 50 to 100 feet for zones 6 to 9, how fast it grows, where it grows wild, 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/water-oak/

![A cluster of round green water oak acorns in shallow reddish scaly caps on a dark twig](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/water-oak-1000.jpg?v=7947a413 "Green water oak acorns still on the twig in Smith County, Texas, in September 2026. The acorns mature in September of their second year and drop from September through November.")
*Photo: Andy Wells, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWater_Oak_-_Flickr_-_ETXshutter.jpg))*

Large tree, 50 to 100 feet, zones 6 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow water 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 | Water Oak |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Possum oak, duck oak, punk oak, orange oak |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 50 to 100 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 70 |
| Zones | 6 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, street tree |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Acorns, September to November |
| First crop | About 20 years (good crops in alternate 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. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Toxicity | The acorns and leaves are poisonous to people and horses. |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, the coast, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 18 states and the District of Columbia |

Water oak is native in 18 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), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA) 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=water-oak): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=water-oak): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=water-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=water-oak): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=water-oak): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=water-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=water-oak): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=water-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=water-oak): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=water-oak): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=water-oak): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Sugarberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sugarberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis laevigata*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 5 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Northern Catalpa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-catalpa/index.html.md) (*Catalpa speciosa*): large tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 4 to 8. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis occidentalis*): large tree, 40 to 60 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Southern Magnolia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/southern-magnolia/index.html.md) (*Magnolia grandiflora*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 6 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks and the coast in the wild.
- [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus rubra*): medium tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Every companion of water oak in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=water-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 and UF/IFAS Extension.