Red oak
Quercus rubra
Also called Northern red oak and American red oak
Garden plant · TreesFast for an oak — a metre a year while young — and the leaf is the tell: pointed lobes with a bristle on every tip where the English oak's are rounded. Red in autumn only on acid soil; on chalk it goes brown and stays.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Once a weekWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun to partial shade
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a very cold winter RHS H6, to -20°C
- Size
- 20 m tall · 18 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- Eastern North America
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsToxic to pets
Affects horses.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-21.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.