![]() ![]() Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Gradually, they become islands of natural fertility that improve the health of the nearby plants. They'll amend the soil over time with their own leaves and build the natural mycorrhizal fungus in the soil they need to thrive. The best mulch is a thick layer of oak leaves. Coast Live Oaks prefer to have their roots shaded, so it's a good idea to surround young specimens with mulch, rocks, or smaller native plants that won't crowd out the young tree trees but will provide shade to the roots. Once they get their roots into the wetter areas, they'll grow rapidly and stay healthy looking all year round. They'll get the water they need by stretching their roots out to the wetter area, but they'll keep the area close to their trunk nice and safely dry. In areas with less rainfall, best to plant Coast Live Oaks near an irrigated area. After that, it's best to avoid direct summer water entirely. Water 1x per week the first year after planting, decreasing to about 1x per month after the first year, until the tree is about 10 feet tall. While normally found within 100 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean at elevations less than 700 meters, in southern California it occasionally occurs at up to 1,500 meters in altitude.Ĭoast Live Oaks are fairly easy to grow. It may be found in several natural communities including Coast Live Oak woodland, Engelmann Oak woodland, Valley Oak woodland and both northern and southern mixed evergreen forests. It's also often found in rocky hillsides that capture and hold more moisture. Normally the tree is found on well drained soils of coastal hills and plains, usually near year round or perennial streams. Associated understory plants include Toyon, various manzanitas, and Western Poison-oak. It is the dominant overstory plant of the Coast Live Oak woodland habitat, often joined by California Bay Laurel and California Buckeye north of Big Sur. The coastal fog supplies relief from the rainless California summer heat. The Coast Live Oak is one of the only California native oak that actually thrives in the coastal environment, although it is rare on the immediate shore it enjoys the mild winter and summer climate afforded by ocean proximity, and it is somewhat tolerant of aerosol-borne sea salt. They will attract a variety of birds and butterflies. The fruit is a slender reddish brown acorn 2-3.5 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad and matures about 7-8 months after pollination (most red oak acorns take 18 months to mature). ![]() Flowers are produced in early-to-mid spring the male flowers are pendulous catkins 5-10 cm long, the female flowers inconspicuous, less than 0.5 cm long, with 1-3 clustered together. The outer layers of leaves are designed for maximum solar absorption, containing two to three layers of photosynthetic cells. The leaves are dark green, oval, often convex in shape, 2-7 cm long and 1-4 cm broad the leaf margin is spiny-toothed, with sharp thistly fibers that extend from the lateral leaf veins. The crown is broadly rounded and dense, especially when aged 20 to 70 years in later life the trunk and branches are more well defined and the leaf density lower. The trunk, particularly for older individuals, may be highly contorted, massive and gnarled. It's form is highly variable, and younger trees are often shrubby. ![]() ![]() Some specimens may attain an age exceeding 250 years, with trunk diameters up to three or four meters. This tree typically has a much-branched trunk and reaches a mature height of 30-80 feet (10-25 meters). The Coast Live Oak is a beautiful evergreen oak that grows predominantly west of the central valleys, as far north as Mendocino County, and as far south as northern Baja California in Mexico. About Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) 68 Nurseries Carry This Plant ![]()
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