General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Wet
Wet Mesic
Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0)
Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 4a -34.4 °C (-30 °F) to -31.7 °C (-25 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 8b
Plant Height: 50-70 feet
Plant Spread: 40-60 feet
Leaves: Good fall color
Deciduous
Fruit: Showy
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: Green
Other: Yellowish-green
Flower Time: Other: April
Uses: Shade Tree
Water gardens
Dynamic Accumulator: K (Potassium)
Wildlife Attractant: Birds
Resistances: Flood Resistant
Pollinators: Wind
Miscellaneous: Monoecious
Awards and Recognitions: Other: 2007 Great Plant Picks Award Winner
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation status:
Conservation status: Least Concern
Image
Common names
  • Pin Oak
  • Swamp Oak
  • Oak

Photo Gallery
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Date: 2018-10-07
Autumn colour
Location: Northeastern Indiana - Natural Environment
Date: Sep 26, 2011 12:05 PM
Early Fall Coloration
Location: Fairfax, VA | May, 2023
Apparently the hairs at the leaf axils are to host mites which he
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-11-02
full-grown tree in fall color

Date: c. 1865
illustration by P. J. Redouté from Michaux's 'North American Syl
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2016-09-23
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2011-11-11
looking up a trunk in fall
Location: Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania
Date: 2011-11-11
red autumn color
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-05-04
tree in bloom with drooping catkins of oak flowers
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2017-07-14
Location: Fairfax, VA | September 2022
Location: Reading, Pennsylvania
Date: 2024-01-06
full-grown tree in yard retaining many leaves in winter
Location: Thorndale, Pennsylvania
Date: 2010-08-05
summer leaves
Location: Valley Forge Park in southeast PA
Date: 2014-01-30
in winter with most leaves gone
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2013-05-11
New leaves emerging in spring

Date: October 2005
Photo by Raymond C. Martin, Jr.
Photo by robertduval14
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-05-04
close-up of drooping catkin flowers
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2017-07-14
Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2014-04-16
Growing in a damp area
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2010-07-02
full-grown tree in yard
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2006-11-05
red fall color
Location: Thorndale, Pennsylvania
Date: 2010-08-05
large tree in church yard
Location: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Date: 2010-10-19
orange fall color
Location: Reading, Pennsylvania
Date: 2009-12-24
brown leaves held in winter
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Dec 9, 2017 2:11 PM concerning plant:
    The scientific name is all Latin and means Swamp Oak. I think it is called Pin Oak because the lower branches often bear sharp short branches that hurt if one bumps into them. I've seen them growing wild in swamps in southern Illinois and along low creek areas in Maryland. So it does usually grow in bottomlands, but it occasionally is found in open upland sites from Long Island and New Jersey down into North Carolina to northeast Oklahoma & southeast Kansas to northern Illinois through southern Michigan back through much of Pennsylvania. Its lustrous dark green leaves get to about 6 inches long and almost as wide are 5 to 7 lobed with the sinuses being sort of uneven and U-shaped, and develop good orange to red fall color. It bears small round acorns to about 1/2 inch long with a thin, scaly, shallow cup that mature every two years like other members of the Black Oak subgroup. It grows about 2 feet/year and lives about 150 to 200 years. It grows in a triangular form for a long time until really mature. It does not develop a taproot and is easily transplanted. Pin Oak is abundantly planted over the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and upper South of the USA. It is available at many nurseries. This species does have to have acid soil. I think the breaking point is about pH 6.8 where above that point it develops iron chlorosis. I would say that more than half of the trees planted in the neutral reaction soils of northern and central Illinois do well, but there is a good number that die from the soil not being acid enough because they don't get enough iron micronutrient. I've some seen trees die in southeast Pennsylvania where the parent rock of the soil is limestone, where the pH can be 6.9 or 7.0. Treat with iron chelate injections in the trunk or lay down iron sulfate and/or sulfur granules over the ground if chlorosis of yellowing leaves happens.
  • Posted by SongofJoy (Clarksville, TN - Zone 6b) on Feb 22, 2012 5:25 AM concerning plant:
    Pyramidal through early maturity, its form turns more oval in older age.

    Fast-growing, tolerates wet soils, likes full sun. Glossy dark green leaves turn russet, bronze or red. Grows to 60' to 70', 25-45' spread.
  • Posted by Bonehead (Planet Earth - Zone 8b) on Oct 25, 2016 12:34 PM concerning plant:
    Nicely shaped pyramid oak. Tolerates wet soil well. Mine is in a field that is saturated most of the year. The leaves turn a spectacular red/orange in the fall and hang on to the tree well into winter. As noted by others, it takes quite some time to develop acorns.
  • Posted by Marilyn (Kentucky - Zone 6a) on Feb 6, 2012 11:54 PM concerning plant:
    When I was growing up in Centerville, OH (a southern suburb of Dayton, OH), my parents planted two Pin Oaks in the backyard. One on the left side and the other on the right side on their quarter-acre lot, as well as other types of trees. My dad planted it within a year of building the house and they had the house for 16 years. I don't know how old the trees were when they were planted as they were bearing acorns for many years they lived there. In the fall, the leaves were a beautiful red color! I loved seeing the fall color, the acorns, and the trees themselves! The trees kept their leaves late into the year. They seemed to be the last ones to drop. A wonderful and beautiful tree!
Plant Events from our members
Cobs On July 18, 1997 Obtained plant
Purchased from Redfearn Nurseries Jul 1997. Planted in pool garden by small access gate towards Rays.
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Discussion Threads about this plant
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Beautiful pic! by Marilyn Feb 7, 2012 10:29 PM 4

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