It also grows well in branch heads, coves, and slopes with deep surface soils in the rolling hills of the lower Piedmont as well as certain uplands of the upper Coastal Plain. The catkins are usually found in clusters near the base of the current year twig. However, the spikes are found in the leaf axils. It takes two seasons for cherrybark oak acorns to mature, and the acorns ripen in September and October. The acorns begin dropping in September but can drop as late as November, depending on latitude.
Dissemination is mainly dependent upon animal activity.
The hoarding activity of squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents is the major way that the seeds are disseminated. Length Cherrybark oaks are one of the largest and fastest growing of our southern red oaks. Unlike our southern pines, cherrybark oaks grow rapidly at 20 to 28 inch DBH's. This would be a five year radial increment of 1.1 inches or greater. From these sources, there were significant differences in height growth among sources at age 3.