OAK TREES IN PALOS PARK 

The Palos Park community offers one of the most beautiful and pastoral settings in all of the Chicago land area.  Hundreds of different species of native trees such as Elms, Pines, Maples, and Ashes are common fixtures in our natural environment.  One of the most widely found and most recognizable trees in our Palos Park community is the mighty Oak tree.  The Oak tree can even be found in the Village’s official seal.  There are more than eight different types of Oak trees in the Palos Park area; here are a few of the most common: 

White Oak 

The standard by which all other oaks are measured.  The dark green, almost blue-green leaves often turn a russet-red in the fall.  Acorns are 1 inch long with 1/4 covered by the bumpy scale cap.  The White Oak grows best in deep, moist, acidic, well drained soils.  It is a difficult tree to transplant and must be moved as a small tree, ideally less than 2 inches caliper, for best success.  This oak grows 50 to 80 feet tall, normally producing acorns after 40 years of age. 

Burr Oak 

One of the largest growing oak trees in our area usually reaching 70 to 80 feet tall.  The large (up to 10 to 12 inches long), dark green leaves turn yellow in the fall.  Bur oaks are difficult to transplant. There is a higher probability of successfully transplanting young balled or burlapped container-grown plants.  The Bur Oak is adaptable to many different types of soils. 

Pin Oak 

Most common planted shade and street tree and most successfully transplanted of all oaks.  The lustrous dark green leaves turn russet-red to red in the fall.  Pin Oak requires acidic soils for best performance.  Lower branches hang down and must be pruned to avoid pedestrian collisions.     It grows 60 to 70 feet tall. 

Chinquapin Oak

The Chinquapin Oak is another very difficult tree to transplant. Better results are seen if young seedlings are used.  The elongated dark green leaves turn yellow to orangish yellow in the fall.  This oak prefers dry, limestone-based soils as well as rich bottomlands.  This tree is one of the faster growing oaks, growing at 2- to as much as 4- feet per year.  The Chinquapin is perfect for open areas or as a shade tree in a large residential yard.  This oak usually reaches 40 to 50 ft tall in landscape conditions.

Red Oak 

The Red Oak is the most shade tolerant of all the oaks, making it a good choice to grow under existing trees.  This oak only needs a few hours of sun per day.  The Red Oak grows better in acidic, well-drained soils.  The fall color is an eye-catching bright red.  Although this tree is susceptible to Oak Wilt disease, the Red Oak can live over 125 years.  

*Information in this article was gathered from the following sources: Conner Shaw, Possibility Place Nursery Micheal A. Dirr, Dirr’s Trees and Schrubs