Quercus palustris Pacific Brilliance™ – Pacific Brilliance Pin Oak

Botanical Name: Quercus palustris ‘PWJR08’

Alternate Name: Swamp Spanish Oak

The Pacific Brilliance™ Pin Oak (Quercus palustris ‘PWJR08’) is a popular, medium sized deciduous tree with a useful narrow form and vibrant display of yellow, orange, and red fall color. It is a natural variety of Quercus palustris – the Pin Oak – that was discovered growing on Brentano’s tree farm in St. Paul, Oregon, by Joe Kelly and Pete Brentano. This tree is smaller than the species Pin Oak and grows to a height of 40-50 feet tall with a spread of 20-35 feet.

The canopy of the Pacific Brilliance Pin Oak forms an attractive, pyramidal form of upward sweeping branches. It is a useful tree to grow in urban settings where it can be planted as a street tree. It is also useful in narrow areas as its slim canopy easily fits into small landscapes, providing a vertical accent.

It develops inconspicuous catkins in the spring – both male and female on one tree. These bloom as the tree is leafing out. The leaves are large, mid-green, and glossy with deep lobes with a bristle on the tip.

The acorns grow up to ½  inch in size with very shallow cups. This oak tree doesn’t produce as many acorns as other Quercus species.

The Pacific Brilliance Pin Oak is very tolerant of wet soils and standing water. It is also very adaptable and tolerates urban pollution well. However, it is intolerant of alkaline soils, which can cause chlorosis of the leaves and damage to the tree.