Plant/Tree of the Month
July 2007

Quercus alba – White Oak

The large stately White Oak seen above resides at The Gault Family Learning Center just South of The College of Wooster campus. Mr. Stanley Gault (a C.O.W. alumnus and generous benefactor) remembers playing Marbles in the shade of that Oak in his youth in the first half of the 20th century.

The second photo documents the planting of the Class Tree of the C.O.W. Class of 2007. President R. Stanton Hales introduced this tradition in the year 2000 and presided over every Class Tree planting ceremony during his tenure as President. It is a 6” diameter White Oak. It was planted with the aid of a tree spade that digs a root ball 90” wide and 6’ deep.

The White Oak is a tree native to Ohio and is a slow growing, long lived, sturdy tree that can live over 400 years and grow to 100’ tall and 150’ wide.

White Oaks are difficult to transplant and are most easily moved when very young. They prefer well drained sites and are often found on the sides or tops of gently rolling hills.
Their slow growth habit and their difficulty to transplant does not endear them with nurserymen, consequently they can be challenging to find for the average homeowner. They make a great large long lived shade tree if you are fortunate enough to locate one or are patient enough to grow one from seed.

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