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Pin Oaks

BearCreek

Member
I just finished reading all of the TSI thread in Dbltree's Corner. Great stuff and very informative. There was a lot of discussion of black oak and eliminating it in many situations, however I could not find a reference to Pin Oak. My place in west central Illinois is chock full of it. It grows fast and produces what appears to be substantial and sought after mast. Anyone have any thoughts on this tree?
 
Pin oak is good and fine. It's generally there for a reason.... It grows well on those sites. I'm going to guess this is on bottom land or moist soil???? Nothing wrong with it and it's a good tree. Lots of acorns, grows well on sites many other trees don't do well on. You sure could add some other tree plantings for diversity depending on what types of soil. But, I would keep your good quality pin oaks, no question.
 
Lot of bottomland for sure. I’m only cutting down the Pin Oaks to release White, Bur, and Swamp. Plan is to plant Swamp Whites and persimmon in bottomland sites. White, Bur, Post, and Chinkapin on upland sites.
 
Lot of bottomland for sure. I’m only cutting down the Pin Oaks to release White, Bur, and Swamp. Plan is to plant Swamp Whites and persimmon in bottomland sites. White, Bur, Post, and Chinkapin on upland sites.
Great plan, and jealous! I agree, black oaks need to go. Pin oaks are OK, fast growing and usually provide lots of little acorns, plus a little bit of early winter wind break since they hold their leaves longer then many hardwoods. But, long term goal favors the white oaks (white, bur, swamp).
 
I too would generally leave pin oaks alone. Deer will eat those acorns, although perhaps not as quickly as they would go after white oak acorns. :)

Also, pin oaks are often excellent trees for stands as the leaves will hang on way later in a pin oak and help hide you.
 
Pin oaks near a pond are a huge attraction for wood ducks. They can pack in the smaller acorns.
 
Are you certain they are pin oaks? I live in west central illinois too - right on Bear Creek in fact and we have 0 pin oaks around me. In fact I've seen virtually none around here that weren't planted as yard trees. A lot of people confuse shingle oak with pin oak. We have tons of naturally occurring shingle oak around here. Not to suggest you are confusing the two but I have seen people do that often.
 
They're definitely pin oaks. I'm in southern Hancock County near West Point blacktop. I'm almost overrun with Pin Oaks. I have some shingle oaks as well. Maybe I should consider myself lucky.
 

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My property in Kentucky is full of Pin Oaks and they are all dying because of gall wasps. The wasps lay eggs on the oak leaves which infect the trees and they get these galls all over them as a defense mechanism. My understanding is because the pin oak is fast growing and basically is a junk tree in the oak world as far as the use of wood. I’m told in the next 20 years most of the pin oaks in western Kentucky will be dead. They are huge fast growing and produce a ton of acorns.

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It seems as though a lot of trees are having an issue with a pest or a disease of some kind. So if you're planting some, try to diversify if you can. It's kind of like ammo, it's good to have a nice mix.
 
Yep, that looks like pin oak. I am just a few miles south of you and I have none of them. I've seen guys call shingle oak pin oak around here I guess due to the shape of the leaf. Anyway, I'd trade you in a heartbeat although I do not hate shingle oak completely.
 
I recently had a state forester take a walk with me in se iowa and the oaks I was calling pin oaks he corrected me and said they are shingle oaks. I have lots n lots of shingle oaks!

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