Willow Leaved Oak

Quercus phellos, also known as the Willow Leaved Oak, has been present in the UK since the mid-1700s. However, it remains rare and is predominantly found in arboretums and estates.

Long, thin, willow-like leaves set it apart from its oak family, and you recognise its origins only when acorns are set in the autumn.

Quercus phellos prefers free-draining, fertile soil with plenty of volume to spread its root system.

It is constrained by low soil volumes in urban tree pits, so it never makes a good tree in this environment.

Its leaves turn an orange / yellow in the autumn before leaf fall, the best autumn colour comes from trees planted in neutral to acid land. 

Quercus phellos develops a broad crown at maturity, making it too large for a garden tree.

Ideally, allow it a 20-metre spacing from other trees and watch it develop over the next two hundred years.

Mature height: 17-22m

Common names

Willow Leaved Oak

Height of tree

17-22m

Soil type

Well drained, Acidic, Will tolerate most soil types

Shape

Broad

Foliage Colour

Green

Genus

Quercus