Gambel Oak / Quercus gambelii
From Plants of the Southwest in spring 2021
From Plants of the Southwest in spring 2021
Expectations:
I want a grove. Or a thicket, actually, as they can grow very low and shrubby or tall and vertical. I want some screening from the road as we look out across the common area.
A neighbor, Lucy, has two upright shrubby young ones by her fence that are beautiful.
The Santa Fe Botanical Garden has several young Gambel oaks planted throughout. They are tall and narrow and most are multi stemmed, but the tree can be pruned into single stems.
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| One of many at Santa Fe Botanical |
Their leaves are tiny, distinctively oak shaped, but very little.
Experiences:
In 2021 I planted three one gallon pots of these native shrubby oaks in the common area field by our driveway.
There was no soil, only sand for two inches then hardpan caliche. I dug out holes (a neighbor Lucy came and used her pickaxe too), added tons of compost, mulched and planted the tiny saplings.
One was immediately decapitated by hail, so I dug it up, potted it and put it in sick bay and bought another to replace it.
The shredded one put out new leaves after a few weeks, and at the end of the summer I later re-planted it out in the field, so now there are four in my "grove".
First planted, these little trees shrank a bit after transplant in the harsh conditions, but with some water (and a good start to monsoon season in July 2021) they put out new tiny leaves.