Lacey oak – great little tree for Texas

Lacey oak foliage is smallish, blue-green, and handsome. It holds its leaves way past Thanksgiving, and insects and diseases almost never visit it. All images clickable for larger views.

Forgive a short story, parts of it told here before, from my teen years. My dad did herbicide research for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of Texas A&M. He was involved in the labeling of various brush killers used to eliminate plants toxic to sheep and goats in West and Southwest Texas. One of those plants is Texas mountain laurel.

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As a young teenager I traveled and worked with my dad in the summers as he conducted that research. His prime testing site for mountain laurels was along Ranch-to-Market Highway 337 between Leakey and Camp Wood in Real County. That’s a really pretty drive that holds many memories for me.

30 or 40 years earlier there had been a massive fire through that ranchland that had destroyed much of the native vegetation. Mountain laurels came back by the thousands to cover the hillsides. Covered solid.

Traveling west out of Leakey, his plots were at the far west edge of those hills, just before the road broke and dropped down to flatter terrain to head toward Camp Wood.

Each day as we worked the plots we had lunch beneath the prettiest little oak, itself a survivor of the fires. It was (probably still there) a Lacey oak, one of the prettiest species in the Hill Country. Even at its maturity, it was only 25 or 30 ft. tall. But it was the only shade on the hillside, so that’s where we sat.

This was not the tree we sat beneath, but it’s typical of a Lacey oak growing in rangeland of Southwest Texas. Note the blue-green color of its foliage. I’ve borrowed this photo from the Texas A&M Texas Superstar® pages. They have named Lacey oaks as one of their winners.

25 years later I took my wife and kids back to show them that spot. To my embarrassment, I could verify we had been there, because there were a couple of thoroughly rusted deviled ham cans I’d left behind beneath that little tree. (I don’t do that any longer.)

I retrieved this old stake from my dad’s research plots as my family walked that hillside 25 years later. I embossed every one of the 50-100 labels one rainy afternoon at the motel.

I’ve always loved Lacey oaks, so in 1985 as I passed through Austin on my way back to McKinney from a conference I’d attended in San Antonio, I stopped by a great little nursery called Gardens on 38-1/2 St. Owner James David featured unusual plants of the highest quality. And there, to my joy, was a beautiful 5-gal. Lacey oak.

Here is that Lacey oak. I planted it at the top of our driveway 40 years ago this month. It’s been witness to a lot of changes in our family and our neighborhood in that time.

My little tree is now 40 years old in our landscape. It’s still only 25 ft. tall and wide, but it’s the first plant that you’ll see as you come in our driveway. It suffered catastrophic limb breakage when an early ice storm hit it before it dropped its leaves one fall, but with careful trimming and patience, it has grown right back.

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I love its blue-green foliage and its small size and calming look in our landscape. That little tree takes me back to fond memories of my childhood. Thanks for letting me share them with you.

What you need to know about Lacey oak…
• Common name: Lacey oak
• Scientific name: Quercus laceyi
(Named a Texas Superstar® plant by Texas A&M. They use the species name Q. glaucoides.)
• Source of name: Named for Kerr County rancher and naturalist Howard George Lacey.
• Hardiness Zones: 7-9. Thrives best in western two-thirds of the state.
• Native range: Edwards Plateau and just west of the Pecos River into the mountains of northeastern Mexico, south to Oaxaca.
• Mature height and width: 30 ft. by 30 ft., can grow larger in special settings. Usually smaller at maturity.
• Rate of growth: Slow, even by oak standards.

I picked up this old, weathered piece of a branch, probably cedar, from the hillside as our kids and I walked around my dad’s old research plots. I knew I’d use it for something special. 15 years later, while finishing my first bird carving, I remembered it.

• Foliage: Small to mid-sized leaves compared to other oaks, blue-green during the growing season, but new growth will have a salmon-orange cast and fall color may be reddish-orange. Deciduous, but holds leaves late into autumn.
• Sun/shade: Does best in full sun.
• Soil preferences: Found natively in alkaline, rocky soils. Requires good drainage.
• Best landscape uses: Featured landscape tree for smaller urban lots, second or third tree in larger landscapes.

Note: Difficult to find in nurseries. Ask ahead of peak season. Local, independent garden centers will be your best chance, especially toward the Texas Hill Country.

Posted by Neil Sperry
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