Burr oak is considered the king of the oaks in the midwest, white oak the king in the east.

if you have well drained acidic to neutral soil white oak all day.

Generally they have good to fantastic fall color. There are small populations here in neutral soil swathes. Otherwise they don‘t seem to exist in alkaline soil. Hence why Burr Oak is the king of a generally alkaline Midwest

"if you have well drained acidic to neutral soil white oak all day."

Neutral... i think...but spot is on the wet side in spring and during heavy rain events... it drains ok.. I am leaning toward the macro because it seems to be more adaptable.. and it grows naturally everywhere around here so probably means it's more suited to Southern Ontario (similar climate and Great Lakes basin like Michigan) - I actually like the muscular, gnarly look of the Bur Oak...

So i saw this today on a hike in the woods... Is this a Q. Alba? Seems to be to me... the last pic shows the underside (not white like macro or bicolor... )

White Oak: not tolerant of alkaline soil. A bit slower growing than bur oak. Decent to good fall color (rusty to red in many specimens). Sometimes a dud in fall (brown or yellow-brown), but usually good.

Bur oak: fine with just about any soil ph you can throw at it. Can be quite fast growing in good conditions, can be quite slow in not-so-good. Cool tree but drab fall color. Mostly brown, the “best” specimens maybe a yellowish-brown.

do you folks reckon the pics above represent white or bur?

" Cool tree but drab fall color. Mostly brown, the “best” specimens maybe a yellowish-brown."

Someone on this forum once made a really intelligent point - fall color only last 2 weeks out of 52... if the tree looks good for 96% of the year, that suits me...

White Oak in Ontario prefers mildly acidic to neutral soils though it can be found naturally on undisturbed soils over limestone bedrock. White Oak is far less tolerant of soil compaction, wet soils, and root disturbance than Bur Oak. Unless you live somewhere on the Shield or have a yard where soils have been undisturbed for ~100 years, White Oak won't be a star performer.

Foliage is more refined on the tree than Bur Oak however...I find it a more attractive tree.

Quercus macrocarpa,

Molly stark lake, near battle lake MN.

Picture taken about a month ago.

Closer up of the trunk.

Problem is that they both look good! I’d plant both if you have room.

I’m going with white oak as it doesn’t have many small lobes at the top.

bark aligns with white oak as well. I’m actually terrible at identifying a tree By leaf though.

I have a white oak hybrid prairie stature that does well - I have 5 of them in fact lol. As smivies mentions the foilage is more refined and more attractive.

I agree with whaas! They are both gorgeous trees as the grow imo. I do think q alba has more attractive leaves up close but I love q macrocarpa bark and it's tolerance of so many cultural conditions. I have planted a few of each from acorns at my house and am really enjoying watching them grow up =)

Can't go wrong with either one if they both grow well in your area

I am planting a white oak (Quercus alba) in my yard this September. I have a leftover tree that hasn't sold so I am giving it a home. The "fall color only last 2 weeks" sentiment is one I can't deny, but I also think...hey, if you can plant a tree you like that will turn beautiful colors in the fall, well....why not? Bur is a fine tree that reportedly will color up nicely in some places but I don't think I have ever witnessed it anywhere near where I live. (I'd kind of like to plant Quercus ellipsoidalis too but am hesitant because that one can be so picky with location and soil pH.)

New house, new yard. My wife gave me the go ahead to plant all the trees I want under the one stipulation that I make sure to plant an oak or two for her.

Either tree would be a good choice.

I have a feeling that the Bur will grow better here.. based on facts about the tree (its adaptability) and the fact that it grows abundantly here in wild settings and our counties are planting it along roadsides (salt tolerance? compaction, etc...?)... very few people plant them on their lawns though... maples are still the go to! I am just a bit concerned about the excess water I get in the spring and when we have rainy stretches... Thanks for all the input..

Would still like to get more opinions on the oak I posted above. I think it's a white.. there were 3 small ones clustered together.. not doing that great as they are dominated by a host of other larger trees.. White oaks are just not too common around here. Reds and Burs dominate..

It's a White Oak.

Burr oak, at least the selection 'Kreider' that I have from OIKOS tree crops, grows much faster than white oak & produces tasty, edible acorns much sooner. Below it's shown at 12 yrs old -- much larger now 3 yrs later:

That's a lot of growth in 12 years for an oak, imo. I guess it very much depends on your zone. You have a lovely tree btw! ^^

Picking a favorite between Bur and White is like asking me to pick my favorite child.

In regards to the fall color question, it's fleeting and I wouldn't select a tree soley on this feature. However, the timing and length of fall color can be considerably different from tree to tree (genus and species). With some forethought, you can stretch fall color in your garden to a month or more. To me it's worth it.

I picked up a bur oak today from a tree farm.. a lot cheaper than a retailer... $10 for a 3' 4 gal container... I also got a 18" serbian spruce for $4.50! Considering that I almost bought one for $75... Can't wait to watch these babies grow!! Thanks to all for your contributions.. btw, I almost switched my selection to a white oak.. but I just think the bur will give me less issues because it will be more adaptable to my site.

Where is this farm? I need to go get me some oaks

I'm in Ontario Canada, Whaas... I think you're in the US (like pretty much all of you!).. so probably out of your range!

FWIW, the farm is called Richardson Tree Farm (https://hrichardsonfarms.com)

I'll meet you at the border!

I wish I had a local source that offered smaller potted stock either don't exist or I can't find them!

The funny thing is whaas, is that we envy your guys south of the border because you have a lot more "mail order" options...and generally, a lot more choice.. Where are you? The farm is probably 2.5 hours from NY State border.. although I don't think you can bring plants across the border.. we can't.. Although I have to admit that I have brought a couple of things over..it's silly.. most of our nursery stocked plants are raised in the US. We get "Proven Winners" plants at most of our nursery and box stores...

If that tree farm has at least a decent range I would value that over most mail order sources there are a few really good ones but in general mail order is definitely overrated

BTW, should I wait to transplant the macrocarpa into ground? The Woody Plantbase (Cornell) says best to plant in spring... and they are difficult to transplant...

Planting container grown trees is very different from transplanting. Transplanting is more like field dug, ball & burlapped, then replanted...what municipalities and developers do every fall. Fall planted B&B Bur Oak street trees I know of are always successful. Container grown fall planted trees will also be successful. You can certainly plant now if you like, making sure it's regularly and sufficiently watered.

I wouldn't wait much longer to plant. You want to give the tree time to establish roots before the ground gets too cold to grow them. Mulch around the planting area, snow cover never hurts also to insulate the root zone, if you get that cold there. :-)

If the plant requires significant root surgery then wait until spring.

If minor like breaking up roots then yesterday was the time to plant. Forecast here is 70s for next 10 days. Its game time for planting like Bill mentioned.

70s here too.... thanks folks... in the ground she goes tomorrow... i just hope i'm putting her in a good spot.. a bit soggy in the spring and after heavy consecutive rains... bone dry everywhere now around here though..

Seems like you planted it a bit shallow? What was the reasoning not to plant it at the depth of the tap root (where the feeder roots are emerging)?

Good question, Smivies, but perhaps it had previously been planted too deep, and the rootlets seen came out of the trunk? I dunno....

I can replant it a bit deeper I suppose... will it be harmed by leaving it as is? Part of the reason is a bit of "paranoia" on my part... in the past I've had a tendency to plant to deep...

The bur oak I moved and originally was planted too deep for about a year, looked just like yours in the picture, after I moved it and planted it to proper depth.

Those adventitious roots on the sides of yours should be snipped off.

The true root crown should've been evident, with pronounced lateral roots radiating outward from the center trunk. The lateral roots can be covered in soil, the crown itself should be at or just above the level of the soil.

Mine looked a little high after I moved it, here it is after 2 seasons in it's new location.

eta: Better to have it a little high than a little too low. Root covering above the ground will eventually turn into bark, where bark on the trunk will never convert to root covering if buried. (Laymans terms) :-)

"The true root crown should've been evident, with pronounced lateral roots radiating outward from the center trunk."

Bill, that's what I think I did! Those little roots sticking out were in a weird spot... the main root system is buried. So looks fine then, I guess? So I erred on the side of caution and planted what I thought was a little shallower than deeper... I just hope it survives! I will add mulch tomorrow... we had a great day today (the day after I planted it) with cool, rainy weather.. first rainy day in several weeks..

Mine went through what was for all intents and purposes, a zone 2 winter last year but we did get snow cover before the extreme cold arrived and it had one season in the ground before that happened.

Roots will elongate now, until the ground gets pretty cold so in your zone, you should have a while yet for that to happen. No fert for a couple of years then sparingly.

Give it a generous layer of mulch before winter and put something on the lower trunk to prevent rodents from girdling that small tender trunk, one of their favorite foods. I've lost too many new trees to mice burrowing under the snow or rabbits on top of the snow in late winter.

Once the bark gets thick and rough, you shouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

Mine is close to free range, maybe next year. :)

Agree that the major roots are OK. Those minor exposed roots won't be a problem -- they'll just die off.

Not the best pics (lighting was bad), but a couple up-to-date pics of 15 yr old "Kreider" burr oak. Notice how much larger it is than my previous pic above:

And an acorn -- not huge for a burr oak, but tasty (hint of peanut) to eat:

Love the gnarly look of the bur.. This is why I planted one...