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Engelmann Oak
Quercus engelmannii
  
About Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii) 26 Nurseries Carry This Plant The Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii) is a beautiful rare oak native to Southern California. Suburban sprawl has eliminated these oaks from the majority of its native range. Most remaining trees are located in San Diego County, with small remnant populations in Pasadena, central Orange County, southern Riverside County, and Baja California south of Tecate.

It is a moderately fast-growing tree. It is generally evergreen but may be drought-deciduous during the hot, dry local summers. It has an upright form when young, but older specimens often have spectacular gnarled trunks and winding branches. The bark is thick, furrowed, and light gray-brown.

Its blue-green leaves are leathery and may be flat or wavy. The flowers are cylindrical flower clusters; its acorn fruit matures 6 to 8 months after pollination.

Englemann Oak is generally found in mesas, savannas and woodlands above the dry coastal plain, but below 4200 feet, where colder winters prevail. It typically grows up-slope from Coast Live Oaks. One of the most spectacular remaining stands of these trees is in the Engelmann Forest near Lake Dixon in San Diego County.

Englelmann Oaks are beautiful but can be tricky. They like dry soil but do best and stay green year round if near a damp or irrigated area, or where they can get their roots into the groundwater. If drought-stressed, they'll often go summer deciduous. They need plenty of room to grow. They prefer full sun and tolerate a wide range of soil types.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
32.8 - 65.6 ft tall
90 ft wide

Form
Form
Rounded

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Cream, Green

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
A wide variety of wildlife is attracted to oaks. Many insects are attracted to Oaks generally, including the following butterflies, which use Oaks as host plants: California Sister, Propertius Duskywing, Mournful Duskywing, Golden Hairstreak, and Gold-Hunter's Hairstreak.

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils including deep loamy-clay soils and shallow rocky soils. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Often found with Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia). Understory plants include Sages (Salvia species), native grasses, and perennial or annual wildflowers. Where adjacent to riparian woodlands, its associates include willows (Salix spp.), Cottonwoods (Populus spp.), and California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa).

Maintenance
Maintenance
Somewhat more resistant to diseases than other oaks

Propagation
Propagation?
By acorns. For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds sow in fall outdoors or stratify to hold for spring sowing. (USDA Forest Service 1974.)

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Gentle rocky slopes, grassy mesas with plenty of ground water or just upslope from riparian woodlands, most often as the dominant species in Englemann Oak Woodland. Also found in conjuction with chaparral or valley grassland.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 10.4" - 34.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.22" - 3.00", Coldest Month: 39.6" - 56.7", Hottest Month: 63.5" - 80.7", Humidity: 1.07" - 31.07", Elevation: 2" - 6555"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Mesa Oak


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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