Willow Oak / Quercus phellos
Red Oak Subgenus: Erythrobalanus
Family: Beech / Fagaceae
Characteristics: Willow Oak is a deciduous tree with medium-fine texture and a medium growth rate. It has a handsome pyramidal form in youth, which becomes rounded to oval in maturity. The leaves are narrowly oblong, or lanceolate, light green and shiny above and paler green underneath. Young bark is dark gray and smooth, while mature bark has deep furrows, rough ridges, and a pink inner bark.
Landscape uses: Willow Oak can be used as a shade tree or specimen tree. It prefers moist, fertile soils but tolerates adverse sites relatively well. It has a shallow root system that will heave concrete, so avoid using it as a street tree.
Size: 40 to 60 feet high with a spread of 30 to 40 feet
Zones: 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Habitat: Moist alluvial soils along rivers and streams, lowlands, flood plains, and rich uplands.
Native to: New York to Florida, west to Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Comment: Spider mites are a problem in South Georgia.