SWAMP WHITE OAK

SWAMP WHITE OAK TREES HOLD THEIR LEAVES THROUGHOUT THE WINTER...

...WINTER LEAF...

...AS A YOUNG STREET TREE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  33 degrees F at the ferry dock, 31 on the back porch.  Wind ENE, very gusty at times.  The sky is overcast, the humidity 88%.  The barometer is falling, now at 30.25".  The forecast calls for ice pellets tomorrow, followed by temperatures in the 40's and lows around freezing, with mixed skies, for the balance of the week.

   A tree that stands out in the winter landscape and into spring is the swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor, which is not native to the far north but is nevertheless  quite hardy. The swamp white oak is a good, dependable street tree, and is quite adaptable, despite its common name. Trees of riverbanks and swamps are usually suitable to drier sites because they have adapted to fluctuating water tables. We have planted a number in Bayfield but they  are still small.