Quercus suber - Cork Oak - 5 seeds
Native to North Africa and Southern Europe, this interesting evergreen Oak variety grows from 12 to 20m tall with a tight rounded crown and a deeply fissured trunk that is corky and has reddish brown furrows, the leathery toothed oval leaves to 10cm long that are shiny dark green on top and grey hairs beneath.
Inconspicuous yellowish green flowers occur in Spring - male catkins and female short stalked clusters, the female flowers form egg shaped Acorns that are a valuable source of food for small mammals and birds.
An interesting fact is the bark is commercially harvested to produce many products including wine corks.
While the cork harvest, the tree remains standing while large sections of the outer bark are cut and peeled from the tree. This tree is only of of the few that can regenerate the bark!
This is a truly magnificent oak species suited for larger gardens and parks, as a shade tree, makes a lovely avenue planting and even looks great as a Bonsai specimen!
This is a slow growing and long lived Oak, some have been reported to live for as long as 250 years!
Best grown in full sun in acidic, dry to medium well drained soils but will tolerate some shade and is drought tolerant when established. Avoid wet and poorly drained soils.
5 premium quality seeds shipped on receipt of cleared funds.