Quercus laevis

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Turkey Oak

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:Tree
Size:30-40 ft tall by 10-15 ft wide
Life Span:Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:NA
Phenology:Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Acorns ripe the second fall. Red fall color. Life span - 100+ years.
Noted for:Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:Specimen or shade tree.
Considerations:Difficult to transplant once it has formed its tap root.
Propagation:Seed. Small containerized plants.
Availability:Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Seed
Light: Full Sun,  Part Shade
Moisture Tolerance:
always floodedextremely dry
 (Not wet but not extremely dry ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods)
Moisture Tolerance: Not wet but not extremely dry ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or other substrate:Sand
Soil pH:Slightly acidic to calcareous

Ecology

Wildlife:
  

Used by woodpeckers and wild turkey

Valued by squirrels and other mammals including white tailed deer

Used by birds for resting and nesting

Insects:
 

Larval host plant forHorace's duskywing (Erynnis horatius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) butterflies)

Native Habitats:Sandhill, scrub, scrubby sandhill. Increases in sandhill where long leaf pines were removed and where burns are restricted to winter.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones

Suitable to grow in:
10A 8A 8B 9A 9B 

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

Comments

General Comments:This is one of the few Florida oaks that looks like an oak to most people from the eastern US north of Florida. Tends to be smaller toward the southern end of its range.