Dwarf Chinquapin Oak Seedling
Dwarf Chinquapin Oak Seedling
Species: Quercus prinoides
History: Dwarf Chinquapin Oak (also spelled Chinkapin) is native to southern Ontario and much of the eastern and central United States. It was first described in 1801 by German botanist Karl Ludwig Willdenow but was likely well-known amongst indigenous groups in its range for its edible acorns.
Why We Grow It: Dwarf Chinquapin Oaks are most well known for producing mild sweet acorns that can be eaten raw or processed, making them popular with humans and wildlife alike. They are also quite quick to start producing acorns, only taking 3-5 years where some larger species may take decades.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, cooking, wildlife
Fruit Size: Small
Storage: Acorns can keep up to four months
Harvest: September - Late
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4
Soil Preference: Prefers dry, sandy soils with good drainage but tolerates a wide range of conditions
Flowering Time: Spring
Bloom Colour: Green
Pollination Requirements: Requires another Dwarf Chinquapin Oak as a pollinator in order to produce acorns
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Tolerates part shade when young to but mature tree does best in full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Shrub/small tree reaches 4-6m tall, starts bearing acorns at a young age and is productive.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Dwarf Chinquapin Oaks are divided into the following grades:
-1 year plant - 15-30cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.
Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.