Description
Quercus coccinea – scarlet oak
Quality: 1/0 P 30-50
Short description: The scarlet oak from North America delivers one of the most intense autumn displays a deciduous tree can offer: in October, its deeply lobed leaves glow a brilliant scarlet red—an effect native oaks cannot come close to matching. With its fast growth and broad crown, it is an impressive specimen tree for parks, large gardens, and avenues.
Climatic characteristics & site conditions: The scarlet oak is winter-hardy down to −25 °C, making it suitable for all locations in southern Germany. It prefers acidic, free-draining soils and does not tolerate calcareous sites—so it is not a good choice for the Swabian Jura or Muschelkalk regions. On the acidic soils of the Black Forest, the Bavarian Forest, or the Upper Palatinate, however, it thrives very well. It is drought-tolerant once established.
Advantages: Most spectacular autumn foliage of all oak species, fast growth, frost-hardy, impressive habit, very robust on acidic soils.
Disadvantages: Not native—lower ecological value than native oaks, not tolerant of calcareous soils, requires a lot of space, not a tree for small gardens, oak processionary moth also infests this species.
