Woody Ornamentals

White Oaks are among our most beautiful native Oaks, starting out as upright young trees and maturing to magnificent specimens as broad as they are tall.  Quercus alba retains its foliage late in the fall, changing from summer greens to shades of bronze red and brown.  Young Oaks often carry their attractive tan leaves well into the winter.  The acorns produced by mature White Oaks are a very important food source for many varieties of birds and mammals.  Slow growing but well worth the investment.

The Swamp White Oak is one of our most beautiful native trees, growing to a magnificent broad tree that tolerates both wet and dry situations. When young, the bark is attractively mottled with scales of tan, gray and brown. The fall color is shades of yellow and orange, changing to a soft russet-tan in winter. Juvenile trees retain their winter foliage and are often confused with White Oaks, since the leaves are very similar. Acorns provide an important source of winter wildlife food (wild Turkeys in particular love them). 2023 PHS Gold Medal Plant.

PRN Preferred:  This is the most versitile Oak we know of for variable sites, and it is one of our favorite native trees.

Beacon® ('Bonnie and Mike') was discovered by Dr Michael Dirr, and named after him and his wife Bonnie when introduced by J Frank Schmidt and Son of Oregon.  Quercus bicolor is one of the most adaptable Oaks for wet sites and urban conditions, and Beacon® had the added distinction of being tightly columnar.  This enables it to be used in narrow spaces and as an excellent street tree.  The lustrous dark green foliage turns and attractive golden yellow in fall.  The tan acorns provide and important food source for wildlife, and as Dr Doug Tallamy points out, native Oaks are critical for bird survival.

PRN Preferred: The very tight upright habit makes this a good Oak for tight spaces and urban settings.

Green Pillar® ('Pringreen') is one of the most fastigiate forms of Pin Oak we have seen, found by our nurseryman cousin Alan Jones, while he was at Princeton Nurseries. The branches are tight and upward pointing, giving it a striking appearance in all seasons. Fall color is a lovely reddish maroon and it is a very adaptable tree for a wide range of sites. Green Pillar® is tolerant of wet, dry, and tight sites.

Willow Oak is a lovely versatile native Oak which grows well in both country and city conditions.  The habit is a broad oval, without the descending branch habit of Pin Oaks, so Quercus phellos makes a very attractive street tree.  The Willow shaped leaves are much easier to deal with than those of other members of the Red Oak family because of their small size.  The foliage turns an attractive dull gold in fall and is often retained for much of the winter as tan rustling leaves.  The small acorns are an important food source for many birds and mammals.

Streetspire® (JFS-KWIQX’) Hybrid Oak is a beautiful fastigiate tree, it features shorter and sturdier branches with better branch angles.  Handsome dark green leaves which become a rusty red in fall, then leave drop cleanly which is unusual for this group.  The leaves are lustrous and similar to Quercus alba leaves. Quercus Streetspire® was chosen by Keith Warren and J Frank Schmidt and Sons Nursery for its excellence as a street tree. It shows great tolerance of a wide range of soil types and urban conditions. A cross between Quercus robur and Quercus alba.

Kindred Spirit® ('Nadler') Hybrid Oak is an interspecific hybrid of the Columnar English Oak (Q. robur fastigiata) and Swamp Oak (Q. bicolor).  The habit is tightly columnar, and the foliage is clean and mildew resistant.  The leaves are dark green with a silver underside, turning shades of yellow and bronze in fall.  Quercus x Kindred Spirit® would make an excellent tall hedge, or be an attractive architectural element when used as a specimen.  Although a cross between two different species, Kindred Spirit® does produce acorns which provide food for wildlife.  This is another winner from Earl Cully of Heritage Trees.

Regal Prince® ('Long') Oak is a cross between Q. robur 'Fastigiata' and Q. bicolor, combining the best features of both its parents. The foliage is a glossy dark green on the upper surface and a glaucous silver on the lower surface which makes it particularly attractive on windy days. Its foliage is highly disease resistant, unlike ordinary Oaks, and it grows in a tight upright oval form. Like the Swamp White Oak, it is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions and has good rusty orange fall color. Earl Cully is its hybridizer.