Shumard Oak

Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)

Shumard's Oak, Swamp Red Oak

Full sun, medium to moderately dry moisture, tolerates clay loam, sandy loam, and rocky soils; pH 4.5–7.0 — more pH-tolerant than most red-group oaks.

40–60 feet tall by 30–50 feet wide; blooms in spring with pendulous male catkins and inconspicuous female spikes; acorns 1.2–2.5 cm wide, flattened, with a shallow, flat to saucer-shaped cup covering one-quarter to one-third of the base — broader and flatter than the cup of scarlet oak — requiring two seasons to mature. Growth rate medium to fast.

Native region: Statewide in Tennessee on bottomland slopes, stream terraces, and moist upland flats; common in Middle Tennessee from the Highland Rim into the Central Basin.

Quercus shumardii is the best all-purpose red-group oak for Middle Tennessee residential landscapes: faster-establishing than Northern Red Oak on clay soils, more pH-tolerant than scarlet oak, and less susceptible to iron chlorosis than Pin Oak on the marginally alkaline soils common in Maury County. Fall color is deep red to scarlet, comparable to scarlet oak but slightly less consistent. Field separation from Northern Red Oak requires examining the acorn cup (shallower and broader in Shumard) and the leaf sinuses (Shumard's sinuses are less deeply cut). The alternate common name 'Swamp Red Oak' reflects its tolerance of periodic moisture fluctuation — it handles Middle Tennessee's wet springs and dry summers better than most red-group oaks. UT Extension oak disease publications document oak wilt risk for all red-group oaks; prune only during winter dormancy to minimize infection opportunity.