15 Types Of Oak Trees You Can Plant In Your Yard

Planting a tree is one of the best things you can do for both your yard and the overall climate. Trees provide shade as they grow, attract wildlife for you to observe, and also last for generations. Trees can also absorb carbon dioxide from the air and emit oxygen. According to the Napa County Resource Conservation District, trees combat climate change by lowering the overall ground temperature through shade. This gives animals and other smaller plants below a chance to thrive, despite rising temperatures.

If you are interested in planting a tree in your yard, the oak tree is one of the best types to choose from. Oak is a genus made up of about 450 different species. They are easily propagated and tend to occur naturally in most parts of North America and Europe, as well as parts of northeast Asia (via Britannica). These 15 trees represent just a slice of the great biodiversity of the oak tree genus. 

According to the National Arboretum Canberra, the bur oak tree is a great choice for your yard as its lifespan is typically about 300 years. Not only will your grandchildren be able to enjoy the tree, but it's also likely that theirs will, too. The tree is native to North America and is mainly found in portions of the east and the midwest United States, as well as the southern bit of central Canada. As far as oak trees go, the bur is one species that does the best in cold weather. If you live somewhere with long and cold winters, you can usually be sure that your bur oak will come out of the other side relatively unscathed.

The tree grows tall and wide, creating a vast network of branches that make a great shade canopy. If you are the type who likes a place to relax under a tree, then planting a bur oak could be a great option for your yard. In fact, the canopy is so vast that just one tree can shade the entire patio at one restaurant (via The Diggers Club).

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the cherrybark oak tree is usually one of the smaller types of oak. It's typically medium in height, although sometimes it can grow quite large — up to 100 feet high. You can recognize it because there are no branches on the tree trunk. Instead, you'll need to move your eye farther up, nearly to the top of the tree instead. There, you will see that the top of the tree is a very open space, too.

It's a special tree because it is only found natively in certain forests in the southeastern part of Missouri. The soil in that area is very well drained, so the tree can do well in pretty much any dirt that might be a little bit too dry. Although rarely sold, if you live in Missouri or a climate with poor soil, the cherrybark oak tree is a hardy tree that requires little care — making it the perfect choice for your yard.

The northern red oak is a tree that puts on a spectacular performance each fall. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the tree's leaves turn bright red each year when the weather gets a little chillier. It has a large, thick spread of leaves that, when you look really closely, seem to bristle towards the tips. If you were to pick one up, you might notice that they feel a bit waxy to the touch.

If you plant one in your yard, you can also look forward to a large tree that just keeps on growing. In fact, the northern red oak will grow and grow, up to two feet a year for as much as a decade. To achieve this, your red oak will need plenty of direct sunlight each day — preferably at least six hours. So, when you first plant it, take care not to place the sapling in the shadow of any large existing trees with dense canopies, or you might dwarf its growth.

The Japanese evergreen oak is one of the smaller oak trees. According to the University of Florida, it is about 20 to 30 feet high when fully grown. However, its canopy is a further 15 to 20 feet across so that the tree can provide dense shade to areas around it. As the name suggests, this tree is not native to North America but comes from Japan. It also grows naturally in parts of China and North Korea.

Although it has very low potential as a full-on invasive species, purchasing a sapling at a nursery is more difficult. Instead, you might need to propagate this tree directly from an existing one. You will be able to find the Japanese evergreen oak growing in parts of California, Florida, and Texas. The tree has a strong trunk and does well against very strong winds, but it doesn't do well in coastal areas or places with waterlogged soil (via Plants for a Future).

According to the Woodland Trust, the English oak is sometimes called the common oak. It is one of the most common trees in the United Kingdom and plays a great role in the area's biodiversity. It provides a place for native birds to build their nests, as well as food for smaller mammals through its acorns. The English oak not only has great biological significance, but cultural significance, too. Druids used to perform ceremonies under the shades of the oak tree, and old English kings wore crowns made of its leaves.

Although primarily found in the U.K., the English oak is also widely cultivated in North America (via Britannica). It does well in sweltering summers, but can also stand the harsh cold of a long winter, so you will find that no matter where you live in the United States, the English oak is likely to thrive in your yard, too.

The water oak grows naturally in the central and eastern parts of the US.., but the most common place to find it is in the coastal plains of North Carolina. According to NC State Extension, the tree typically grows best along streams and in flood plains — that is, places where the soil is nice and wet. However, in some cases, you might also find the water oak in a sloped area with drier soil, like on the edges of a riverbank with lower water levels.

In most parts of the country, the tree turns brilliant colors in the fall and loses its leaves at the end of the year. However, in the warmer parts of the south, the water oak is actually an evergreen tree because it never gets quite cold enough to trigger this process. The water oaks in the south have one other advantage over their northern counterparts: temperature. The tree doesn't do as well in the cold, as the limbs can easily become brittle and snap. If you live in a colder climate, you will need to be mindful of trimming back the tree to protect your home and car from falling branches.

The laurel oak does well in places that rain a lot, as it thrives in wet soil. According to the University of Florida, its native range forms a giant u-shape across the United States. Starting in the Pacific Northwest, scooping down along the coast across to Texas and through to Florida, before turning up to encompass parts of Pennsylvania. Like many other oaks, this tree typically reaches 70 feet at full maturity and has a canopy that spreads about 45 feet across.

The laurel oak typically lives about 70 years; however, it is particularly prone to rot, which can shorten its life. If you plant one in your yard, you will need to be proactive about trimming its lower branches and ensuring no large branches are too high up. If these larger branches fall, they can cause significant damage, so as a general rule, get rid of any that look more than half of the trunk's diameter.