Its lifespan is 150 to 250 years.
Established chinkapin oak tolerates dry soil and does not need watering except in an extended drought.
Fertilizer
Chinkapin oak can grow even in poor soils and needs no fertilization.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Just because it is a hardy tree doesn’t mean you should neglect it.
Occasional mulching can be helpful.
It has growing conditions similar to chinkapin oak, with a similar leaf and fall color.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
When young, the tree has a pyramidal shape that becomes broader and more rounded as the tree matures.
It grows 50 to 80 feet tall and 50 to 70 feet wide.
Its leaves are thick, firm, light yellow-green above and paler green to silvery white on the underside.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Chinkapin oak has distinctive flaky, gray-yellowish bark as it matures.
Its tiny acorns are 3/4 inch to an inch long with a thin cap.
Pruning
The tree does not require pruning except for removing crossing, broken, or diseased branches.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
The best time to plant acorns is immediately after they fall in autumn.
Overwintering
Chinkapin oaks are cold-hardy trees that can tolerate freezing temperatures.
One of the most damaging is thefungus oak wilt, which kills the tree in a few years.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Its other susceptible conditions include cankers, shoestring root rot,anthracnose, and leaf blister.
An infestation with gypsy moth, orange-striped oakworm, and the variable oakleaf caterpillar can defoliate the tree.
Splits or Cracks in Bark
The bark holds water.
epantha / Getty Image
In the fall, the foliage color ranges from yellow to orange-brown or bronze.
Chinkapin oak acornsDan Mullen/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
