Welcome to Vermont, Karen!  

Thank you for reaching out to our University of Vermont Master Gardener's Helpline for science-based information to help with your oak tree plan.

I live just north of you in Shelburne -- so we garden in similar climate zones relatively close to Lake Champlain.

First:  Good for you for wanting to plant an oak tree!  Oak trees are ecologically mighty for our planet!

Have you been inspired by Doug Tallamy by any chance?  He's a University of Delaware Entomology & Ecology professor who encourages us all to nurture oak trees, along with other native plants.  The Washington Post cited him as "....the godfather of the native-plant movement" and he wrote The Nature of Oaks along with several other award-winning books.  I'm currently reading his 2025 book, How Can I Help? Saving Nature with  Your Yard where he has an entire chapter dedicated to Oaks.  :-)

Still: raising a single small oak tree in clay soil .... on a "city" yard setting ... in northern Vermont ... poses some challenges.

Here are some initial obstacles that you might overcome:

• Vergennes is currently rated by the USDA as climate zone 5a (temperatures below minus 15-20 will kill plants).  That eliminates (for growing through our winters) some dwarf oak trees.  (Though I can offer info about some you MIGHT take a chance on.....if you can get the acorns or seedling trees.)
• Oak trees grow best in well-drained soil (sandy, rocky -- but not clay...);  still some varieties are more tolerant of less-than-ideal conditions
• Even though oak trees are "monoecious" (they bear both male & female flowers on the same plant) -- you probably won't get any acorns -- if that's part of your plan -- with just one tree.  Alas:  the male stamens usually mature before the female pistils....so you want to have more than one tree of the same oak species within close range (no more than 100' at the very most....I go with 50' max myself and then hope that variations in sun & micro-climates will allow cross-fertilization).
• Growing an oak tree from an acorn can be a fun & satisfying project....but acorns have short germination periods so you need to "catch" the healthy acorns at the right time -- not as easy as ordering seeds that have several years' viability.  White oak tree species' acorns germinate within days of falling from the tree in the fall (you can't just pick the acorns...they need to mature on the tree & then drop) and red oak species needs to be overwintered for a cold spell dormancy.....but then they need to sprout in the spring.  This means that if you want to grow an oak tree as soon as possible:  you need to wait until next fall to collect "ripe" and healthy acorns and then plant them with guidelines to protect them until they can sprout and be transplanted.   Here are two good fact sheets about growing oak trees from acorns:
  
  • https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/yard-and-garden-handling-germinating-and-planting-acorns
  • https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/growing-your-own-oak-seedlings
• Oak trees hybridize readily (like apple trees).  This means that you can't be sure that a tree you spend years growing from an acorn will actually grow into a clone of its parent.  To be SURE you are growing what you want, you might choose to buy a young tree from a tree farm/garden center that you can trust.  

Having shared all of this:  would you still like some suggestions for oak trees you might grow?

I did a little research tonight.  We have a University of Vermont "Landscape Plants for Vermont" publication that lists a dozen oak trees that do well in our climate -- though I'm afraid most are bigger than you might be seeking.  

I believe I'm also allowed to tell you about "Branch Out Burlington" -- a non-profit organization here in Burlington that grows trees suitable for our climate and "urban" (Vermont urban :-)  street locations.   They take orders in the fall....for pick-up in South Burlington in the spring -- so it's too late to order for this year.  But they focus on offering trees that do well on "urban" lots and I noticed that this fall they offered an interesting tall, but thin oak tree -- perhaps one that might allow you to plant more than one if you pursued that particular species.   Here's a link to Branch Out Burlington's web site -- just scroll down through the trees they offered this last fall to see the "Kindred Spirit Oak." 
https://www.branchoutburlington.org/annual-tree-sale

We aren't allowed to recommend commercial businesses, but I could help you try to whittle down the oak varieties that might fit your situation so that you could seek out local sources.

In welcoming you as a new Vermont gardener:  I can also suggest employing tools like Front Porch Forum to reach out to neighbors if you want to try to find acorns.  I suspect the odds of finding dwarf varieties is slim....but you could certainly ask!

Would you like me to send you info about different oak tree varieties that might survive in Vergennes or might your garden visions be evolving now?

Respond if you'd like some oak tree recommendations -- even though they will be for trees that are likely to grow larger than a dwarf chestnut tree.

Not sure where you've moved from, but I hope you enjoy the full four seasons we experience here in Vermont!  As much as I love gardening during the summer, I also love this seasonal break to reflect & plan for the NEXT season.  :-)

- Robilee