Bur Oak

Quercus macrocarpa

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Bur Oak is a large tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 50–70 ft tall and 30–50 ft wide. It wants full sun and medium water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms yellow in mid spring. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Massive spreading oak with huge lobed leaves and acorns the size of golf balls.

Why it works here

Fast for an oak, deeply drought tolerant once established, and immune to nothing but tolerant of nearly everything including alkaline clay.

Watch out

Needs real space — 60 feet of spread. Acorns are a genuine nuisance on pavement and in mowers.

The facts

10 sources

Type: Large tree
Sun: Full sun (6+ hrs)
Water: Medium
Height: 50–70 ft
Spread: 30–50 ft
Bloom: Mid Spring · yellow
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on calcareous, clay, deep, dry, limestone, moist
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Acorns are a draw and saplings get browsed; mature trees are fine.
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

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

Balcones CanyonlandsEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

1,187 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

3.5 and 13.5 inch pots3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 65, 95, 200, 300 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

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.