tree

English oak

Quercus robur

Native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 38°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -30°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

4/5

Mature size

12–25 m tall, 15 m spread

Seasonal interest

Spring catkins, autumn mast · Green

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Needs a very large space and decades to mature; acorns toxic to livestock.

Toxicity: mild

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name: Quercus robur L.
Family: Fagaceae (Fagales)
Rank and status: species · accepted
GBIF record: Taxon 2878688

Recorded native range: Belgium, Brussels-Capital Region, Flanders, Flemish Region, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Portugal Continental, Walloon Region

Recorded as introduced in: Altay, Azores, British Columbia, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Colorado, Cyprus, Free State, Garden Route National Park, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Kentucky, KwaZulu-Natal and 17 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Quercus robur, pedunculate oak, European oak, or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soils of near neutral acidity in the lowlands and is notable for its value to natural ecosystems, supporting a diversity of herbivorous insects, acorn eating mammals and birds, and fungi. The common name pedunculate oak refers to the acorns being borne on a peduncule, or stalk.

Description from Wikipedia — Quercus robur (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

United Kingdom: native
United States: climate-suitable
Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Wikimedia Commons contributor · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where to buy

Real retailers serving UK. Garden Forward publishes no prices of its own — each link opens the retailer's own search results, where their current price and stock are shown.

Search Ashridge Nurseries for Quercus robur
Bare-root trees, hedging and fruit in the dormant season.
Search Sarah Raven for Quercus robur
Perennials, bulbs and seed, delivered across the UK.
Search Farmer Gracy for Quercus robur
Bulbs and perennials shipped direct from Dutch growers.
Search Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants for Quercus robur
Specialist hardy perennial nursery.
Search Marshalls Garden for Quercus robur
Fruit, vegetable plants and seed.

No affiliate relationship is in place with these retailers, so nothing here earns Garden Forward a commission. Search links checked 2026-09-17. Availability of a species is never a reason it is recommended.

Companion palettes

Not currently in a sample palette.

Climate-resilient alternatives

Data sources

Taxonomy and native range: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Species description: Wikipedia — Quercus robur
Photograph: Wikimedia Commons contributor · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Growing guidance: Practitioner horticultural estimates pending expert review

Botanical record checked 2026-09-17 · growing guidance last reviewed 2026-06-01 · confidence high

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.