All About Monterrey Oaks

Monterrey oaks (also known as Mexican white oak)definitely insect and disease resistant.
started getting popular as a planting choice about 10Pruning needs are very moderate for this tree.
years ago. There are a few scattered specimensBecause Mexican white oaks are fast growing they'll
around town that are older than this, but not many. Soneed some regular pruning to keep low limbs out of
far, this tree is proving to be a hardy tree to the areathe way. But, they don't produce a lot of deadwood
and it is oak wilt resistant. I expect to see more andand they don't need any creative pruning or thinning.
more of the Monterrey oak as the years go by. But,The Monterrey oak's natural distribution ranges from
for now, the jury is still out on this tree in my opinion.Guatemala in central America all the way up through
We'll need to see a number of these trees live intoMexico, and there is one small stand of Monterrey
maturity before I give them a full-blown thumbs up.oaks in south west Texas found back in 1992. In its
The tree is said to grow to 40-60' in height. I haven'tnatural distribution, the Monterrey oak is found in many
seen any Mexican white oaks old enough to reach thisdifferent ecosystems ranging from river banks, to
height and certainly the growing conditions of yourcloud (mountain) forests, to arid-desert like areas. This
yard would have a large impact on max size. Near ais definitely a hardy tree suited for many different
water source, I can envision the Monterrey oaksettings.
reaching these heights; in the hill country it would likelyAs the years go by and I see more and more healthy
top out around 20-30'.specimens, I find myself recommending the Monterrey
The only disease I really ever find on the Monterreyoak more and more. The tree is fast growing, hardy
oak is powdery mildew. This is a very manageableand offers foliage for 10-11 months out to the year.
disease. I've seen our regular spring oak worms chewMonterrey oaks are a good choice to bring greenery
on some of the foliage, but this is normal for all oaks ininto the winter landscape and to provide a large barrier
the area. The Monterrey is not any more prone or lessfor privacy screening.
likely to this kind of attack. As a whole they are