Monterrey Oak (Mexican White Oak), 4–8 ft

An oak that does not make you wait a decade. Monterrey oak puts on two to three feet a year, holds most of its leaves through a Central Texas winter, and shrugs off the alkaline soil that turns a live oak yellow. New spring growth comes in peach-pink. If you want a real oak in this decade instead of the next one, this is the tree.

What actually ships

• 3-Gallon: 4 to 6 ft tall, 1/2 to 1 in caliper, container-grown, single leader
• 7-Gallon: 6 to 8 ft tall, 1 to 1-1/2 in caliper, container-grown, branched head
• Root form: Container-grown, root ball intact
• Shipped as: Upright in a corrugated carton, soil bagged at the collar

Mature size

• Height: 40 to 60 ft
• Spread: 30 to 40 ft
• Growth rate: Fast for an oak, 2 to 3 ft per year
• Foliage: Semi-evergreen. Holds leaves to roughly 20F, then drops and re-leafs early

Where it grows

• USDA zones: 7 to 10
• Texas planting window: October 15 to February 28
• Native status: Primarily a Mexican species with a small documented native Texas population on the Devils River in Val Verde County. Honest framing: treat it as Texas-adapted rather than as a Hill Country native. It is not a substitute for a live oak in a native-plant restoration
• Soil: Excellent on high-pH limestone and caliche where live oak goes chlorotic
• Sun: Full sun
• Water: Low to moderate once established

Texas care notes

• Oak wilt: Do not prune between February 1 and June 30. Oak wilt is moved by sap beetles in spring. Paint every wound within 30 minutes, any time of year
• Spacing: 30 to 40 ft
• Winter: A hard freeze can strip it. It re-leafs. Do not prune the bare wood until May

Ship window and your cancellation right

Field-grown Texas stock ships during the dormant season. Orders ship between October 15 and December 15, 2026, oldest order first. That is deliberate: Texas Arbor Day is the first Friday in November (November 6, 2026) because fall is when a tree should go in the ground here.

If we cannot ship inside that window we will email you before it closes with a revised date and a one-click cancel link. If the new date is 30 days or less past the original, you can wait or cancel, your choice. If we need more than 30 days, your order is cancelled and refunded automatically unless you tell us to hold it. Refunds go back to your original card within 7 business days. This is the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR Part 435) and we would rather you use it than be surprised.

The spec is the promise

Measure your tree against the "What actually ships" numbers above on the day it arrives. If it misses the spec, photograph it and we refund you in full and you keep the tree. We are not going to send you a stick and a photograph of somebody else's oak.

About this image: our product photography is an illustrative rendering of a mature, well-grown specimen of this species. It is not a photograph of the individual plant you will receive. The written "What actually ships" spec above is the binding description of your tree.