Dwarf Chinkapin Oak

Rare Shrub Oak -Heavy Early Acorn Production on Three Year Old Plants

Dwarf Chinkapin is an obscure oak found in scattered populations throughout the Midwest and Northeast. It is one of the few oaks that produces runners and is somewhat stoloniferous although after 30 years at our farm, we have not seen this characteristic. It is a precocious fruiting tree and it is not uncommon to see small 3-4 ft. trees loaded with acorns. Trees in our orchard have fruited when 2 ft. tall. Slow growing, but extremely drought tolerant this species has thick leaves with a twiggy growth habit. Our seed trees were produced using wild collected seed from Nebraska found in a wide open windswept area. . Acorns ripen in August and sprout quickly.  Especially attractive to turkey, dwarf chinkapin oak is perfect for use in dry soils and open sunny areas. 

Dwarf chinkapin oak is easy to transplant young but develops a long taproot as it matures. It also colonizes an area and may become stoloniferous after 20 years or so. The plants will throw their tops and begin sprouting from the base to make a new vigorous and productive tree.  We are currently producing a new crop for 2020 which will be ready to go in September. But there is a small crop of 2 year seedlings with very good roots available this fall of 2019.