Well, If I had room for only one, I guess the Q. Rubra N. Red oak would be it. The branches will get thicker and not slope down. If you have room the Pin oak has great fall color for me as Beng has mentioned. The Nuttall's is a red oak family oak, and mine have still got their leaves on them although they are brownish red, I'm happy with them. I know fall color is nice to have, and is the reason some add certain trees to their yard, but, I have to say, I have a Quercus Velutina with great form, and it got kinda orange for a while this fall, one over the mountains had yellow fall color, but, the form of the tree was perfect, even if mine never has much fall color, I just love it's form, and can't wait for it to mature. I can't help but think that starting an oak from an acorn puts the tree at an advantage. I know they grow laterals etc. I know that they do, but, Dax sent me an acorn for a Burr oak, and I direct sowed the acorn, and I have seen articles saying Burr oak sometimes have taproots that go down 7 feet sometimes. Okay, whatever, maybe this one hasn't got a taproot that deep, but, I do know that, if there is a drought that lasts a while, I do not have to baby that seedling, and that Burr seedling doesn't have to take a year or 2 to replace roots instead of putting out growth. If I can choose, I'll choose direct sowing seed. I am going to direct sow Hickory seeds after seeing a post on here where the kid is holding a Hickory in a very long pot, and the taproot is longer than the pot. I am sure the trees will be okay in a rootmaker pot etc. But, I would rather keep that taproot in situ if I am not moving the seedling anyhoo, ya know? I am not knocking the way some peeps do it, but my choice is direct sow. There are situations it must be done in pots. Poaky1

I've seen a few pin oaks with decent to good fall color, but not many around here. Muddy red going quickly to brown, if not just straight to brown. I did collect some acorns from a north AL specimen, located not far from our friend rhizo1(hey, cuz'n D!) a few years back, that had excellent red fall color, rivaling that of the scarlet oaks growing on the same property. They're a nurseryman's dream, to some degree - easy to propagate from acorns, grow rapidly, transplant readily as a sizeable specimen. Not my favorite oak, though - but I do like 'em better than willow oak. The downswept, eye-poking limbs that impede pedestrian traffic are often whacked off to make a lollipop tree - and then, the lowest branches sweep down, necessitating further pruning-up. Pin oaks were planted almost as a monoculture as 'street trees' and in residential yards here in my little burg, throughout the 70s-80s-90s(along with the callery pears), so now they're succumbing to a widespread combined attack of gouty/horned limb/branch galls and bacterial leaf scorch. Been watching nice 40-yr old trees all up and down the major thoroughfares here in town decline, one by one, over a 5-7 year period until they're taken down.

Joe !!!!! ... you have a new babe.. what in the heck are you worrying about the trees for?????? up here in my neck of MI .... 6 weeks without a trace of water... and 2 of the weeks near 100 .... leaves are dropping off the following: red bud, birch, chestnut, oak, poplar, lilac, mock orange .. etc ... very simply .... WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT???? .. and forget about the neighbors... their grass is always greener .... now get your priorities straight... go snuggle the poop machine and forget about your trees ... they have survived in nature.. in drought.. for millions of years.. they can handle it.. and if they cant .. you have better things to do .... now go bath stinkee... have a great day .. and congrats on the important thing... ken

Q. ellipsoidalis is the dominant deciduous tree where I live. Bur and White Oaks are present, but in much smaller numbers. We have loamy sand that drains sharply. Dry, droughty conditions are all in a good days work for this tree. I've never tried growing NPO in marginally draining clay soils, but I'm skeptical about the long-term success of it in these conditions. It might work, but it would be a bitter pill to swallow to have them grow well for a few years and then lose them during a period of excessive moisture. Is Oak Wilt present in your area? If so, I'd return the NPO's and replant with Swamp White Oak. They'd be more resistant to wilt and perform better in your conditions.