Engelmann Oak, Quercus engelmannii

About Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii) 21 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The Engelmann Oak, also called the Mesa Oak, 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, reaching up to 20 meters tall, and up to 30 meters wide. The trees are generally evergreen, but may be drought-deciduous during the hot, dry local summers. They have 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. The leaves are leathery, 3-6 centimeters long and 1-2 centimeters broad, of a blue-green color, and may be flat or wavy, with smooth margins. The flowers are cylindrical flower clusters; the fruit is an acorn 1.5-2.5 centimeters long, maturing 6-8 months after pollination. It's generally found in mesas, savannas and woodlands above the dry coastal plain, but below the 1300 meters (4200 feet) elevation where colder winters prevail. It typically grows up-slope from Coast Live Oaks. One of the most spectacular remaining stands of these trees are 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

Tree

Size

32.8 - 65.6 ft tall
90 ft wide

Form

Rounded

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Green

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 plant: California Sister, Propertius Duskywing, Mournful Duskywing, Golden Hairstreak, and Gold-Hunter's Hairstreak.
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 112 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Pacific Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma constrictaMalacosoma constricta

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulusPapilio rutulus

Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquiniLimenitis lorquini

California Sister Adelpha californicaAdelpha californica

Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertiusErynnis propertius

California Hairstreak Satyrium californicaSatyrium californica

Golden Hairstreak Habrodais grunusHabrodais grunus

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 21

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description

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

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

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 species), Cottonwoods (Populus species), and California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa).

Maintenance

Somewhat more resistant to diseases than other oaks

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?

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

Natural Setting

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

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"

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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

Engelmann Oak

Quercus engelmannii

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Engelmann OakQuercus engelmannii

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Engelmann Oak

Quercus engelmannii