Illustration
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia
Also called california live oak and encina
Coast Live Oak blooms from March through April.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Coast Live Oak
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–10. Expect it to reach about 51 ft tall and 25 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (a house reading).
Is Coast Live Oak toxic to dogs?
- Listed as toxic to dogs by Royal Horticultural Society.
- Not yet checked for cats.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Coast Live Oak
Plant Coast Live Oak in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 9, the middle of its hardy zones 8 to 10, spring means January to March and fall means October or November. Once settled, it blooms from March to April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Coast Live Oak get?
51 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult25 ftwideSee Coast Live Oak in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Coast Live Oak
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Coast Live Oak about 25 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Coast Live Oak to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Coast Live Oak's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- calscape.orgCalifornia Native Plant Society Calscapeheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- laspilitas.comLas Pilitas Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- nativewest.comNative West Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water and bloom months and color
- research.fs.usda.govUSDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information Systemheight, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- parksconservancy.orgGolden Gate National Parks Conservancyheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun and water
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 1 state
United States: California
Recorded growing wild in 26 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.