Jonathan Ya'akobi

Oaks For Your Private Garden – Why You Should Consider Them As Landscape Trees

Oaks should be considered as serious candidates for landscape garden trees. In dry climate gardens, the appropriate species are an essential part of water conserving gardening.

A great oak tree has the power to inspire and move us. You may have seen one in a park, or remember from childhood, a fine old specimen, with its massive branches and gnarled bark, growing in a wood. Yet despite their qualities as excellent landscape trees, homeowners rarely choose an oak for their private garden.

The main reason is probably due to the tendency of most people is to choose a tree that provides spectacular color from their showy blooms. Flower color usually catches the eye first, and so the home gardener is likely to say, “I must have that tree in my garden.” A great flowering tree can of course be an asset to the home and garden, but remember that the sight of a tree in full bloom is invariably a very short-term thing; a matter of 2 or 3 weeks perhaps. What happens then for the rest of the year? A wisely chosen landscape tree has to be right for the plot primarily in terms of scale, size, form, and shape, and be suitable for the prevailing growing conditions.

There are over 600 species of the genus Quercus, to use the oak’s botanical name. Their natural habitats range from the Mediterranean, the Far East, and both Eastern and Western United States. The species grown for horticulture could be evergreen or deciduous, demanding in their water requirements, or able to grow and thrive through long, dry, and hot summers without irrigation. The deciduous oak species provide wonderful color in the autumn, especially in cold winter climates, as their leaves turn to various shades of red and gold. Take care to choose the right species for your climate.

The species that grow wild in Southern California, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, are the most suitable for dry climate gardens. The cork oak, (Quercus suber) from North Africa and the Western Mediterranean, is a massive evergreen, with a highly decorative bark, while Q. frainetto from the Eastern Mediterranean is a fast growing deciduous tree reaching over 30 meters (90ft) in maturity.

The great thing about the dry climate oaks, is that they add so much to the landscape while consuming so little water, at least once established after a few of years. In fact, they are far more likely to succeed either with a very modest water regime, or without additional irrigation altogether. Under planting with garden ornamentals that demand constant watering, will retard the oaks, and possibly kill mature specimens, as the oak root fungus (Armillaria) thrives in damp, moist conditions. Instead of trying to grow herbaceous or ground cover plants beneath them, it is far better to spread organic mulches, making sure that neither the mulch nor soil, mounds up around the tree trunks.

In general, the various species of oak are hardy to pest insects. While they may attract a certain number, the health of the tree is rarely affected. On the contrary, both the trees and their acorns supply food for a wide variety of wildlife, thereby contributing to the ecological balance in the garden as a whole, and the consequent, complex system of natural pest control.

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