Native Plants

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Sunday - April 15, 2012

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Soils, Trees
Title: Soil for Emory Oak from Dripping Springs, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford and Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

I bought an Emory Oak today at the Wildflower Center's plant sale. Upon reading about it when I got home, I see "it won't grow in alkaline soils." I was hoping to plant it in the riparian area along a seasonal creek, near a pecan grove, in Dripping Springs, Texas. Am I out of luck? Thanks, Paul Clements

ANSWER:

We are pretty particular that everything that we sell at our Native Plant Sale is native to Texas and will grow there. You are correct, our Native Plant Database on Quercus emoryi (Emory oak) did state that it grows only in acid soils. That statement was an error in our database. Thanks to your question, we have corrected the database information. Some of the facts in this database were entered years ago, and ever so often we find a previously-undetected error.

Emory Oak is not native to central Texas (in Texas, it grows near the Rio Grande) and your success with growing it will depend on local conditions. However, the location you describe seems to be a very good match for its growing requirements.

From Plants for a Future, we found this quotation:

"The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils..It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.It requires moist soil."

From the Image Gallery

Emory oak
Quercus emoryi