Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-990
Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii
Shumard oak is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the red oak group, opening from a pyramidal young shape into a broad, spreading crown at maturity. Its glossy, deeply lobed leaves turn a late brownish-red in fall. Acorns feed songbirds and small mammals, and the foliage hosts caterpillars of the imperial moth and several hairstreak and duskywing butterflies. It tolerates both dry spells and occasional wet soil once established, and its size and tolerance for urban conditions suit it to open ground as a shade tree.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–9
- Soil
- Clay · Loam · Sand
- Moisture
- Dry · Moderate · Well-Drained
Vertical layer
Canopy- Soil pH
- 5–6
- Plant type
- Deciduous Tree
- Mature height
- 50–60 ft
- Mature spread
- 30–40 ft
- Plant spacing
- 30–60 ft
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Alligator Juniper
Juniperus deppeana
Alligator juniper is a slow-growing, long-lived evergreen conifer named for its thick, deeply furrowed, plated bark that resembles reptile…
Canopy · USDA 6–9
Almond
Prunus amygdalus
Almond flowers earlier than almost any other cultivated tree, which is its biggest weakness as much as its gift to early pollinators - a warm…
Canopy · USDA 7–9
American Basswood
Tilia americana
American Basswood is famous for the bees - mature trees hum audibly for several feet around when they bloom in early summer, giving one of…
Canopy · USDA 3–8
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia
American Beech is a slow, long-lived shade tree that can establish and eventually fruit even under an existing forest canopy, unlike almost…
Canopy · USDA 3–9
American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
American chestnut once carried the sweetest nut of any chestnut species and covered more than 200 million acres of eastern forest, but an…
Canopy · USDA 5–8
American Elm
Ulmus americana
American Elm is a native stream-bank tree that grows into a 60 to 80 foot vase-shaped shade crown and, once mature, becomes one of the…
Canopy · USDA 3–9
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference