Plant library · Shade Trees
Quercus macrocarpa
Bur oak is a long-lived native shade tree for sites that can absorb a very large, permanent canopy. At maturity, it can reach about 80 feet tall and 80 feet wide, creating substantial overhead shade and a strong structural presence in the landscape. Its rounded, spreading form suits open ground rather than tightly fitted residential beds. Use it where its eventual scale can define the plan without crowding buildings, paths, or smaller trees.
Give Bur Oak an open lawn, meadow edge, park-like setting, or other broad area where its canopy can develop without repeated clearance pruning. Keep it well back from the house, drive, utility lines, patios, and productive beds that will need reliable sun as the tree grows. Its drought tolerance and strong branching make it useful as a lasting shade-tree anchor, but its scale calls for a generous buffer around the trunk and beneath the future crown.[1][2]
Plant individual trees 60 feet apart, center to center. That interval establishes a broad rhythm for a row or grove, yet each mature crown may approach 80 feet across, so reserve overlapping canopy space and avoid placing smaller trees in the gap unless they are intended as temporary planting. Leave clear circulation around the young tree for mowing, watering, and eventual leaf and acorn cleanup.
Site this tree in full sun and provide moderate water while it establishes. It handles drought and can adapt to a wide range of soils, including dry, clay, sandy, and alkaline ground, but it is best placed in well-drained soil rather than a persistently wet planting pocket. Use its adaptability to solve a large, exposed site, not to justify a cramped or poorly drained one.[1][2]
Spring flowers are modest catkins that emerge as the leaves appear, so the tree reads mainly as foliage and canopy rather than as a flowering focal point. It is deciduous, bringing summer shade and a more open winter outline. Large acorns mature in fall; allow room beyond paths, seating areas, and frequently used paved surfaces for seasonal drop.[1][2]
Choose the planting position carefully before installation. Bur oak develops a long taproot and can be difficult to transplant, making it a poor candidate for a spot likely to be redesigned or built over later. Treat the tree as a permanent canopy commitment, with future access and sun patterns mapped around it from the start.[1]
Editorial content updated 2026-07-20.