# Texas red oak (Quercus buckleyi)

> A medium shade tree (usually 30-50 feet, taller on deep soil) with glossy, deeply lobed leaves that turn red in a good fall. It handles rocky, alkaline soils that defeat most red oaks, is often multi-trunked, and is the native red oak of the Austin hills. It is also a key nesting tree for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/quercus-buckleyi · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Spanish oak, Buckley oak, Texas oak
- Family: Fagaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 15 m; spread 12 m
- Growth: Medium growth
- USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 9
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Well-drained limestone, clay or loam; tolerates alkaline rocky soils and shallow Hill Country sites
- Native range: Limestone hills of central Texas north into Oklahoma and southern Kansas

**Benefits:** Shade, Fall color, Wildlife, Birds, Drought tolerant

**Good for:** Yard shade, Street tree, parks

**Watch out for:** Pest prone, Heavy litter

## Care

Plant in fall or winter; water weekly through the first two summers. Site on the north or east side of the house where soil stays cooler, in the limestone soils of west Austin. Like all red oaks it is very susceptible to oak wilt: prune only in deep winter or midsummer, paint wounds at once, and avoid damaging roots. Use trees grown from a western (Central Texas) seed source.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** United States (Also native in: KS (USDA PLANTS distribution)); OK, United States; TX, United States
- **Recommended:** Sacramento, CA, United States (On the Sacramento Tree Foundation Shady 80 recommended trees list); Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List); Austin, TX, United States (On the City of Austin Grow Green native and adapted plant list (Watershed Protection). Listed as 'Oak, Texas Red' (Quercus texana in the guide's older naming); notes oak wilt susceptibility and recommends western seed source.); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/QUBU2
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUBU2
- https://www.austintexas.gov/watershed-protection/plant-guide/oak-texas-red
- https://www.treefolks.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/NeighborWoodsTreeMenu-2026.pdf