I've told many about what I do to plant oak trees, or rather, how to plant an oak from an acorn. Also many have asked others to ship them some acorns for planting. As you are aware, squirrels do a lot of planting but sometimes acorns get missed by them and also in spring the frost coming out of the ground pushes some acorns up. This is what you then get. Notice on each one how the new sprout comes out but then turns down so it will get into the ground (nature can be fascinating). I've never studied this but many moons ago I was looking at acorns in the spring and I thought, why not move some of these acorns to where I want the trees to grow. It worked! But you have to be quick, before it take root (and they do this fast). I simply move the acorn to where I want it and let it grow. Not all will make it but the majority will. btw, I've had no luck picking up acorns in fall to plant the following spring. Also if you try this, do not attempt with white oaks in fall or you will end up with a massive worm problem. Spring is when you need to gather. Good luck, but most of you are further south and that window for planting is past for this year, but remember it for next year.
I picked up a bunch of acorns last fall and planted them around the edge of my yard in maybe October or early November. No signs of life yet but remaining hopeful. If they come up, fine, if not it won’t be the first time I have nothing to show for an hour of effort.
I agree, nature is fascinating. This is the first year that I gathered acorns in the fall and planted them on purpose. They’re in pots covered in hardware cloth to keep the squirrels away. It looks like the shells split and the nut sent down a taproot; so far so good. I’ve had good luck in the past transplanting oak seedlings that came up on their own, in the wrong location. I just make sure to dig up the entire root ball before moving the seedling. Also doing it in early spring or late fall helps. Seems it stresses the trees a bit doing it in the summer heat.
I purchased 100 shumard oak seedlings from the TN department of forestry for $70 in February. Received them in March and they are all full of leaves now. Think they gave me closer to 150, so great deal. I planted 500 Northern Red Oaks two years ago and I'd say 3/4 are healthy and growing great.
Yep, I was always told the we were safe from frost when the last Oak leaves fall. Still got some hanging on here.
We stratify acorns in the fridge over the winter. I’m having a ridiculous 100% success rate with bare root trees from 2020 acorns. All white oak varieties grown in a raised bed after radical formation. Stratification is key… moist, not wet medium in ziplock bags with air flow. We’ve planted hundreds over the last three years. Nice pics! Nature really is something.
