Pat, may good luck rain down on you today!!! Thank you for this thread!
I have one Cork Bark (Quercus suber), and one with an interesting, sort of spiny trunk (must take a picture for you all), and several with smooth trunks and rounder leaves that are probably Coast Live Oak.
What seems rather interesting is that they seem to grow in spurts, that is, each tree will put out new growth which seems to quickly grow and harden off, and then it pauses... for weeks perhaps.... then every branch has new reddish growth again. Each tree has it's own schedule. They seem to be slow growers because of these pauses, but really the Cork Oak more than doubled in size this year... it grew over a foot!
So questions would include when to root prune, whether methods like defoliation work (I suspect not), if there is any particular hints or tips for growing Quercus in our hot dry climate..... just come on and tell us everything you know and love (or hate) about these trees!!!
Joanie