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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Bastard Oak

Quercus sinuata
native · Hill Country

Bastard Oak is a tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–12 ft tall and 12 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms white and brown in Mar–May. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

4 sources
Type
Tree
Sun
Full sun to part shade (5–7 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
3–12 ft
Spread
12 ft
Bloom
Mar–May · white, brown
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes clay · recorded on clay, dry, limestone, loam
Wildlife
Supports birds and butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandLimestone Cut Plain

937 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.