White Oak - Quercus alba - The reason most people plant Red Oak Trees instead of White Oak Trees

One big difference between White Oak Trees and Red Oak Trees explains why most nurseries prefer to grow Red Oak Trees.

The White Oak group generally tends to have a deep taproot as a youngster. This makes them very hard to transplant, which means that most nurseries don’t carry them. As a very young plant, it is possible to plant one of these trees and get reasonable success but considering how slowly they grow, most customers would not be interested in purchasing a foot-tall specimen knowing that they will have shuffled off from this mortal coil long before the tree reached a height to hang a swing from.

The Red Oak group on the other hand is somewhat more fibrous rooted, with a facility of transplanting ease that make them much more available in the nursery trade.
In addition there is a world of scrub, evergreen and other types of Oaks, but generally in our climate, the White and the Red Oak groups are the dominant types.

The White Oaks generally offer up leaves that are rounded in shape, whilst theRed Oaks have pointed leaf lobes (although the Willow Oak leaves might be an exception). The White Oaks make for better fire wood, as their cell structure tends to be tighter, more closed hence more dense wood. They are slower growing, they don’t have
as good a fall color and they are excellent forage for deer, squirrels and other wildlife.

Grown best in full sun to partial shade, forgiving as to soil except for totally waterlogged.

White Oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland.