Is Gambel Oak deer resistant?
Quercus gambelii
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Gambel Oak
A clump oak more often than a tree. It grows as dense clonal patches three to twenty feet tall, and only on a good enough site does it make the fifty foot specimen the books allow for. Deer and elk browse it — in Utah it counts as a major forage species — so the rating means it carries the damage rather than that it goes untouched. The thing people get wrong is expecting a garden tree. It is very slow growing and it suckers from a lignotuber, with rhizomes running between the stems, so one planted oak becomes a thicket unless you take the suckers off while it is young. Root grafting between clones is common, which is why a patch behaves as a single organism. Rocky ground suits it, acid or calcareous, sand through clay, in part shade. Cold is not the constraint. Patience is.
Similar to Gambel Oak
Other trees with the same deer rating.
- Allegheny ServiceberryAmelanchier laevisZones 4–8Seldom damaged
- American PlumPrunus americanaZones 3–9Seldom damaged
- Austrian PinePinus nigraZones 4–7Seldom damaged
- Chinese Fringe TreeChionanthus retususZones 5–9Seldom damaged
- Chinese Paper BirchBetula albosinensisZones 5–7Seldom damaged
- ChokecherryPrunus virginianaZones 2–6Seldom damaged
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Common questions about Gambel Oak
- Is Gambel Oak deer resistant?
- Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- Does Gambel Oak grow in shade?
- Yes. Gambel Oak tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Gambel Oak get?
- Mature height is roughly 600–600 in. Growth rate is moderate.
- Is Gambel Oak toxic to dogs or cats?
- Not to dogs or cats — the ASPCA lists Gambel Oak as toxic to horses only. Worth knowing if you keep any; the ASPCA does not list it as a risk to dogs or cats.