Interior Live Oak

Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni

Common names: Interior Live Oak, Sierra Live Oak

Family: A California native tree or shrub in the Fagaceae (Beech) family

Light: Sun, Part Shade.

Water: Drought tolerant. It will grow a foot or two each year. If it is happy you might even get 3 feet in a year.1. Oaks do not want to be overwatered. 1a. Oaks do like enough water to survive for the first 2-3 years. 2. Oaks do not want to be on drip. 2a. The best watering os sprinkler or hose@once/week for the first summer, then 1/month second summer, then 1-3 times in spring the third summer.

Size: Height: 30 - 70 feet. Width: 40 - 80 feet. A Quercus wislizeni in Humboldt is registered as a California Big Tree. It measures 88 feet high, with a trunk circumference of 254 inches and a crown spread of 82 feet.

Growth Rate: 12 to 24 Inches per Year.

Longevity Greater than 150 years.

Plant Type: Evergreen

Pests: Susceptible to Caterpillars, Coddling Moths, Insect Galls and White Fly, Crown Rot, Mistletoe, Powdery Mildew and Root Rot.

Flower: Flowers Inconspicuous. Flowers in Spring. Has separate male and female flowers on the same tree (monoecious).

Garden: Requires California locations where winters are wet but not freezing and summers are hot and dry.

Elevation: 7' - 11,310'

Ecological Role

Attracts Birds/Butterflies. Deer Resistant.

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." - read more: Calscap