Full sun gives best autumn color and densest form. Root pruning aids transplanting. Great tree for climbing if lower branches are retained.
Rick Darke writes in The American Woodland Garden that this tree grows natively in moist woods and alluvial soils (as opposed to the related and similarly-nicknamed Ostrya virginiana, which is usually found in dry woods and rocky sites).
USDA and JerseyYards.org disclaim clay tolerance, but they are outnumbered by White Oak, NCSU, and Missouri BG.
'JN Select A' (Fire King) has superior cold hardiness, a broad-oval-to-rounded form, and fast(er) growth (20'x20' in 20 years). 'J.N. Upright' (Firespire) has good cold hardiness, upright form (duh), and the slowest growth (15' in 25 years); fall color is reliable only in the North. 'JFS-KW6' (Native Flame) is upright oval, is moderately fast growing, and drops leaves cleanly (not marcescent). 'CCSQU' (Palisade) is among the narrowest, is probably more heat tolerant, and lacks strong fall color. 'Uxbridge' (Rising Fire) has good cold hardiness, a narrow upright form, and perhaps the best fall color of the bunch.
Sources: White Oak, Sunset, Stoecklein, NCSU, Dove/Woolridge, Dirr, Dirr & Warren, UFL, JerseyYards.org, Odenwald/Turner, Missouri BG.
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