Turkey Oak Trees

Quercus Cerris

The Turkey Oak tree, Quercus cerris, is a grand, spreading plant that grows quickly for an oak and thrives in any well-drained soil. It grows best on acidic ground, but it will also do well on chalk. This hardy, vigorous tree is a handsome specimen for a park or large garden. It is shade tolerant when it is young. Turkey oak has neater, more oval shaped leaves than a native oak and its acorn-cups are covered with green growth, like a thick moss. The autumn colour is a rich bronze-brown that makes a good backdrop for other trees with brighter leaves. Turkey Oak trees can reach a height of about 30 metres.
Standard trees are the largest size that we deliver; you can also buy younger Turkey Oak saplings here.

Browse our full range of oak trees or see our full variety of trees.

History & uses of Quercus cerris

This European tree has been growing wild in Britain for several hundred years. There is a record of it being cultivated in 1735 that suggests that it was already well established here. Its native range is from the South of France through to Turkey. It is a poor timber tree but the dense wood burns very well. Turkey Oaks were involved in the Knopper Gall wasp scare of the 1960's.

How Standard Trees are Measured:
All our trees are graded as standards, which means that they are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level (basically, their trunk's waist measurement). They aren't measured by their height, which will vary. So, a 6/8 standard has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8 centimetres and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10 centimetres around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height. Our Oak Standard are 2.5 - 4.5 metres tall (on average) when they arrive; they are the most mature trees that you can buy from us. Because of variations between trees and different growing condition year to year it is hard to be more accurate.