Arbor Image Tree Care, based in Oklahoma City, OK, serves the Oklahoma City metro with arborist-led tree health, preservation, pruning, removal, planting, and storm response.
Backbone shade trees
Bur oak, post oak & native oaks
Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
The single most reliable large shade tree for central Oklahoma. Tolerates clay, drought, and ice. Slow young, then steady. Plant where it has room, these get big.
Post oak (Quercus stellata)
Native, exceptional drought tolerance, but extremely sensitive to root disturbance. If you have one, protect its root zone, don't try to add irrigation, raised beds, or fill over it.
Chinquapin & shumard oak
Solid alternatives where bur oak doesn't fit. Shumard gives reliable red fall color.
Oak wilt window
Avoid pruning oaks April–July unless storm damage forces it. Fresh wounds in that window are how oak wilt spreads from tree to tree.
Mid-size & ornamental
Redbud, lacebark elm, Chinese pistache
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Oklahoma state tree. Spring color, native, tough. Short-lived compared to oaks but earns its spot.
Lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
Beautiful exfoliating bark, fast establishment, drought-tolerant once rooted. Not the same as Siberian elm, don't confuse them.
Chinese pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
Reliable fall color, tough, and tolerant of urban conditions. A good answer when you want a smaller shade tree.
Use with care
Sycamore & magnolia
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Beautiful and fast, but anthracnose pressure and constant leaf/bark drop bother some homeowners. Site it away from pools and patios.
Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
Borderline-hardy in central Oklahoma, site on a protected southern exposure, expect leaf burn in hard winters, and don't crowd it.
Natives & drought-tolerant
Underused natives worth planting
- Caddo sugar maple, better Oklahoma adaptation than standard sugar maple
- Texas red oak, tough, good red fall color
- Cedar elm, drought-tough, fine-textured
- Mexican plum, small native, spring flower
- Persimmon, wildlife value, tolerates poor soil
Site it right
Right tree, right place
Most planting failures in the OKC metro aren't species choice, they're site choice. Wrong tree under a power line, in compacted soil, against a south-facing brick wall, or in a lawn that gets daily 10-minute irrigation will fail no matter how 'tough' the species is.
- Match mature size to the planting window (utilities, structures, neighbors).
- Check soil drainage before planting, many residential lots have buried construction debris.
- Plant high in clay soil, never deep. The root flare should be visible.
- Mulch ring out to the dripline. No volcano.
- Water deeply and infrequently for the first 3 years.
What to do next
- Take 3–4 photos of the tree, full canopy, base, and any damage.
- Note the city, neighborhood, and what you've already seen change.
- Request a free on-site assessment from an ISA-Certified Arborist.
- We'll send a written quote with preservation options before any saw runs.