3 Types Of Oak Trees Growing In Utah

Oak Trees are attractive, typically tall-sized trees with diverse, evergreen, or deciduous foliage. These elegant trees can also grow as thicket-forming shrubs. Most Oak varieties are grown commercially for their wood that is used in making furniture, floorboards, musical instruments, ships, and more wooden items. Read on to learn about the types of Oak Trees in Utah!

Oaks are impressively durable trees that belong to the Quercus genus. They typically bear copper-brown pomes or acorns that can be sweet-tasting, depending on the variety. These acorns are devoured by varied wildlife, including squirrels and cows. These trees also bear monoecious, non-showy blooms that grow in distinctive male and female catkins.

Ashes, Maples, Pines, Firs, Poplars, Junipers, and other tree species grow in Utah. As for Oak Trees, Utah doesn’t have a large variety of them growing on its diverse landscape, but it does grow Northern Red Oak, Gambel Oak, and some other varieties. The state enjoys a distinct four-season climate with hot, dry summer days and cold, snowy winter days.

Moreover, the terrain in Utah is pretty diverse as well; it includes various landforms, such as mountains, cliffs, canyons, low desert, high desert, valleys, mesas, and more. If you want to grow Oak Trees in Utah, make sure to plant them in full sun in free-draining, moist, and organically rich soils.

Moreover, don’t expect your tree to bear acorns in the first few years because Oak Trees take about 20 years to start bearing prolific crops. However, you can surely plant these trees as shade, hedge, or understory specimens and boost the curbside appeal of your home with their diverse, attractive foliage.

Here are the common types of Oak Trees in Utah that you can grow in your garden:

1. Gambel Oak (Quercus Gambelii)

Quercus Gambelii
Andrey Zharkikh Quercus Gambelii

Native to North America, Gambel Oak is a deciduous, small to medium-sized tree that can also grow as a clump, thicket-forming shrub. When grown as a tree, it features a rounded crown decked with deeply lobed, bright green foliage with paler bottoms. It can grow up to a height of 50 feet, but it typically only reaches about 30 feet. The foliage of this tree turns red and brown in fall. Gambel Oak produces insignificant blooms and sweet acorns. It thrives in free-draining souls and sunlit spaces.

2. Shrub Live Oak (Quercus Turbinella)

Also known as Sonoran Scrub Oak, Shrub Live Oak is a dense, thicket-forming, evergreen shrub that grows up to 6 to 12 feet. In favorable habitats, this shrub might grow tree-like with a spreading crown. It features rigid branches that bear striking, gray-green, bristle-edged, holly-like leaves that turn reddish and then shiny, lime-green. Shrub Live Oak thrives in sunlit areas.

3. Wavyleaf Oak (Quercus Undulata)

Quercus Undulata
J. N. Stuart Quercus Undulata

Native to southwestern North America, Wavyleaf Oak is a deciduous shrub. This attractive plant is a naturally occurring hybrid of Gambel and Live Oak Tree. It features a graceful crown decked with thick, blue-green, leathery foliage with wavy margins. This tough shrub grows up to a mature height of 5 to 10 feet. It produces monoecious blooms that give way to small acorns. Wavyleaf Oak thrives in sunlit spaces. You can plant it as a background specimen.