For many decades, relatively few oak trees have been planted in our landscapes, due in part to difficulty in transplantation and a somewhat undeserved reputation for slow growth.  Happily, excellent hybrid oaks are now available that establish more easily and grow vigorously.

‘Heritage’ Oak (Quercus macdenelli) is a wonderful mix of Bur Oak and English Oak that has gorgeous shiny dark green foliage and excellent growth rates. Bur Oak genes give Heritage Oak a tolerance for a very wide variety of soil types, and the English Oak genes bring great beauty and vigor to this hybrid.  Swamp White Oak root stocks and container growing in air root pruning pots are two methods being used to make Heritage Oak easy to transplant and achieve rapid root establishment.

In addition to raising pure strain patented Heritage Oaks, Knecht’s Nurseries is raising open pollinated oak seedlings from Heritage Oak acorns.  These open pollinated acorns have significantly greater genetic diversity than pure strain Heritage Oaks and we have named the resulting seedlings “Ancestry” Oak.  People who desire greater genetic diversity and are able to embrace a variety of characteristics may find ‘Ancestry’ Oak an interesting and valuable addition to their landscapes.