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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 34, Number 4 (1983) → English Oak Grows Better Than White Oak of Comparable Seedling Size

English Oak Grows Better Than White Oak of Comparable Seedling Size

Thirteen-year-old English oak (Quercus robur L.) trees were reported to have 45 percent greater height and twice the diameter of southern Michigan white oaks (Q. alba L.) of the same age (8). The apparent superior growth of the English oak may, however, be related to initial seedling size because English oak nursery stock tends to be larger than white oak stock (3), and seedling size has been shown to affect subsequent performance in several hardwood species. For example, trees grown from large stock of birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh. and B. pendula Roth), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) survived better and were taller than those grown from smaller stock (2, 5, 1). Similarly, large seedlings also produced taller trees of sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.), northern red oak (Q. rubra L.), American elm (Ulmus americana L.), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh) (7, 4, 6). Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the survival and growth of English oak and white oak seedlings of three size classes.


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Author(s): Knud E. Clausen

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 34, Number 4 (1983)

Volume: 34

Number: 4