Lacey Oak

Quercus laceyi

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Lacey Oak is a large tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 30–50 ft tall and 25 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and very low water, and handles caliche soil. Blooms yellow in Mar–May. Good for birds.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Small blue-green oak with soft, almost gray foliage. Slow growing, well proportioned for a residential lot.

Why it works here

Ideal where a live oak would be too large. Grows on shallow limestone, resists oak wilt better than most oaks, and needs almost no supplemental water.

Watch out

Slow. Buy the largest one you can afford; you will not shortcut this with fertilizer.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Large tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 30–50 ft
Spread: 25 ft
Bloom: Mar–May · yellow
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche · recorded on dry, limestone, rocky, shallow
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Same as other oaks — protect the sapling, not the tree.
Wildlife: Supports birds

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 CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau Woodland

88 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:

5, 15, 30, 45, 65, 95 gallon

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