Wife and I have moved into our house we are going to be in for a long time. House has awesome shade, except for the backyard in the evening and southwest corner of the house. I would like to plant 2 red oak trees (but I'm open to suggestions) to eventually provide shade to the house and our hangout spot.

I have about 100 feet to plant the 2 trees along my western fence. I was planning to plant both trees about 50 feet apart.

I am located in Longview, TX and I am on top of a hill that drains really well. I already have around 20 various Oaks on my place that are all full grown and huge, so I was choosing a Red Oak because I figured it would do well on the soil that drains good and oaks are already the dominant species.

I know I could buy a 45 gallon tree and it would be the fastest to get there, but I'm trying to do this for the right price.

Are the red oaks at Lowes really that bad? I can get one there for $50

Edit: to say, I wish I had added a comma before fast so it didn't sound like I was refraining from eating shade trees.

I would stay away from red oak varieties due to oak wilt concern. We planted a Monterrey Oak this spring as a replacement in our front yard (in Houston).

They are supposed to be fast growing and long lived. Full size is ~40' high and ~40' diameter canopy. Growth of 2-4' per year.

Water and fertilize on a regular basis and oaks will grow as fast as any trees

$50 isn't going to get you any shade very fast. An oak tree will put on about a foot of growth a year and maybe more if you plant it right and fertilize it. Red Oaks do well in your area. Go to a reputable nursery, not a Big Box store to get a better deal on a 30 or 45 gallon tree. They will be 7-10 feet tall already. Fertilize with Microlife fertilizer and watch it grow. Also, avoid planting the same variety of tree everywhere. If you get a disease in one you won't have any left after they pass it on to one another.

Other options: ( All but the Monterrey will lose leaves in the fall.)

Cedar Elms - solid tree, smaller leaf but very hearty.
Monterrey Oak - very hearty and drought tolerant once established.
Mexican or American Sycamore - These will put on tremendous growth if they are in good soil. In your area they get huge.
Bald Cypress - Beautiful color in the fall, great climbing tree. The knees may not be great for sitting underneath it.

Southpaw 07 said:

---

I would stay away from red oak varieties due to oak wilt concern. We planted a Monterrey Oak this spring as a replacement in our front yard (in Houston).

They are supposed to be fast growing and long lived. Full size is ~40' high and ~40' diameter canopy. Growth of 2-4' per year.

---

Are red oaks any more susceptible to oak wilt over others? Just curious, I figured it pretty much harmed them all.

I've planted a live oak, burr oak, red oak, and a lacey oak in my backyard.

Red oaks are more susceptible to oak wilt than other varieties of oak. White oaks (bur, ch*nkapin, post, etc) are fairly resistant and are rarely killed by it.

Edit, looks like a tree has part of a derogatory term; never noticed until the Texags edit.

I'm partial to bur oaks. Two sticks (basically) when I first bought my house, one of them only cost $10 at Walmart.

I have always had large mulch beds around each so they aren't competing with the turf for water and to eliminate weedeater damage. My neighbor had two larger bradford pears (poorly) installed the next year. Several years later, my oaks are larger than his bradfords, aren't beat to hell from the weedeater, and I know they won't start falling aprat soon.

I bought a red oak from Home Depot about 2.5 years ago for $50 and it hasn't done very well. I dug a big enough hole for it (over 2x its width) and gave it plenty of water. The roots eventually grew around themselves but I didn't realize that until I dug it up a couple months ago in order to replant it after I saw that it didn't have much life. If I were to purchase another tree from a big box store again, I would soak the roots in a large container of water for a couple hours before planting it and hope for the best.

Take a look at http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/ExpressSelector.aspx and select your county and size of tree you want..

I stick to a nursery or tree farm for trees and major shrubs. HD and Lowe's are ok for annuals, but I usually buy from the local family owned nursery for those as well.

Bald cypress are awesome but they can be messy. Always lots of little branches and twigs to pick up. I wouldn't put one in the backyard for that reason but they are great for side yards assuming you have space.

Whatever you do, don't ever get a live oak. Their leaves are the worst.

Obviously, their leaves are *****ly, but American Holly Trees do great in East Texas. They are a good medium size tree (30-40ft tall), and they are evergreens so they keep their leaves year round.

Now those leaves are *****ly as hell, but if you prune away the low branches, you won't ever touch them.

Didn't know p r I c k l y was a taboo word

sixiron said:

---

I bought a red oak from Home Depot about 2.5 years ago for $50 and it hasn't done very well. I dug a big enough hole for it (over 2x its width) and gave it plenty of water. The roots eventually grew around themselves but I didn't realize that until I dug it up a couple months ago in order to replant it after I saw that it didn't have much life. If I were to purchase another tree from a big box store again, I would soak the roots in a large container of water for a couple hours before planting it and hope for the best.

---

Sometimes you can give them too much water. What part of Texas are you in? Soaking the roots won't do much for you. Chopping them with a machete all around the root ball will help them grow outward. You could also use a recipro saw to chop vertically around the root ball.

We planted 4 Eagleston Hollies in our backyard last Fall, primarily for a screen, but also a bit of shade/atmosphere. We have a pool so choices were limited. Have no clue if they are appropriate for East TX but they attract birds, bees, etc. and are evergreen.

We have a Red Oak in our front yard that is very tall and a nice looking tree and thus far has been pretty healthy. I think I recall someone telling me that when the tree is young that wrapping the trunk can help prevent sun scald or something like that.

Since our tree was mature when we bought the house, I never looked into that nor do I know if that is advisable so if you do end up with a Red Oak you may wish to investigate further to protect your investment.

Red oak, burr oak, or cedar elm would be my choice. I'd go to a nursery and buy a tree at least 15' tall.