Quercus palustris Early Drop Form (EDF)

What differs. The ACT Government's sheet for 'Free Fall', the name those two growers also give this form, says its leaves drop quickly in autumn, unlike the widely planted species. One grower says it drops its autumn leaves far sooner than the ordinary pin oak, which keeps them well into winter; a Victorian tree grower's sheet for 'Free Fall' says it keeps fewer brown leaves. Otherwise the sheets describe a pin oak.

Growing. The ACT sheet for 'Free Fall' rates its frost and drought tolerance high, finds it does well in a wide range of soil types whatever the drainage, and calls it long lived; it says the tree establishes well and is fast growing, and one grower calls its growth average to fast. The ACT sheet says it requires formative pruning when young and removal of the lower branches as it matures; that grower says no pruning is required, and gives its climate as warm temperate to cold.

Sun and soil. The Victorian sheet for 'Free Fall' prefers full sun and acid, well-drained, moist soil but says it will handle most soils from dry to wet; an EDF sheet prefers full sun and well-drained, acid soil; a third grower marks it for full or part sun and adaptable soil. The first two say it tolerates periods of drought.

The ACT sheet for 'Free Fall' suits it to large landscapes such as parks, wide street verges and school or commercial grounds, for its dense summer shade, calls it a useful large tree near playgrounds, and points to plantings at two arboretums in the ACT. Growers' sheets give it for shade, parkland, avenues and large gardens. The ACT Government's sheet for the species suits that tree to places where winter sun is not an issue; its sheet for 'Free Fall' carries no such line. No sheet read says how much earlier the leaves fall.

Growers list this form as Early Drop Form (EDF) or 'Early Drop Form'. Two growers' sheets name EDF as Freefall, and the HortOS catalogue also lists Freefall under its own name: check which one each quote is for. The International Oak Society's checklist gives Quercus palustris 'Free Fall' as an accepted but unpublished name from the Waite Arboretum in Australia; no reference read says more about who selected it. The table above shows the sizes growers list, and the guide to specifying and procuring trees covers the stock standard for street planting. Stock moving between states travels under the state and territory biosecurity rules.

The ASPCA lists oak (Quercus species) as toxic to horses, naming gallotannin as the toxic principle.