Dan Kostka

Dan Kostka in front of a Quercus velutina, still holding its leaves in December.

Where are you from?

Minnesota, USA. I have also lived in California and Iowa. I currently live on 10 acres in eastern Nebraska, with a hobby orchard and diverse collection of oaks and other species.

What is your professional background?

Mechanical engineering. Education was BS from California Institute of Technology, and MS from Iowa State University.

How did your interest in oaks start?

I credit my parents with taking my siblings and I camping and canoeing, and instilling in us a keen curiosity of nature. After I purchased my first home on a barren lot, I became more interested in trees as I planned and planted the landscape. Concern over oak wilt was gradually replaced with oak fever!

How did you come to join IOS?

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum library had a subscription to the International Oak Society publications. At a nut growers conference in Pella, Iowa, I met a guest speaker named Guy Sternberg and then visited his arboretum. The rest is history!

I am an active member of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, North American Fruit Explorers, and Nebraska Nut Growers.

Which are your favorite oaks?

The Quercus ×guadalupensis (macrocarpa × stellata) at Starhill Forest Arboretum.

My favorite wild trees are the Q. muehlenbergii at Waubonsie State Park. They stand on a ridge with a commanding view of the Missouri River Valley. My favorite oak landscapes are the Cross Timbers area in Kansas/Oklahoma (dwarf Q. marilandica and Q. stellata) and the Q. garryana among the boulders and brown grass of the Columbia River Gorge.

An oak anecdote you would like to share?

I enjoyed immensely the people and trees of the 2015 IOS Pre-Conference Tour in Illinois. “Weeds” [Henry Eilers] for President!

Anything else you would like to add?

My beginner’s collection of oaks consists of Q. buckleyi, Q. coccinea × nigra, imbricaria × Q. rubra, Q. macrocarpa, Q. marilandica, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. prinoides, Q. shumardii, Q. stellata, and Q. velutina. I have a potted Q. lyrata (with red fall color) waiting for me to clear its site, and I am looking for Q. marilandica × velutina seed. Besides oaks, I am passionate about Asimina triloba and Diospyros virginiana. I have planted an orchard of pawpaws and grafted parthenocarpic female American persimmons to promote these native species and their delicious fruit.