Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-569
Swamp Chestnut Oak
Quercus michauxii
Swamp Chestnut Oak, also called basket oak or cow oak, is a bottomland tree grown as much for cattle and deer forage as for people - the acorns are large, and while some are sweet enough to eat, others turn out bitter, so any batch is worth tasting before counting on it. Its wood splits so cleanly that it was traditionally worked into baskets, and it is also strong and durable enough for flooring, barrels and boat building. Unlike most oaks it wants wet feet, thriving on inundated bottoms and stream banks, and it tolerates soil compaction better than most of its relatives. The seedling drops a deep taproot right away, so it needs to go in its permanent spot early rather than being moved later.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 5–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist · Wet
Vertical layer
Canopy- Soil pH
- 4.5–6
- Plant type
- Deciduous Tree
- Mature height
- 40–60 ft
- Mature spread
- 30–50 ft
- Plant spacing
- Not yet recorded
- 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