White oaks mixed results/ Chestnut question

[Marker]

After planting 160 white oak acorns in pots last fall I have had mixed success.

The best results by far have been from planting outside in the fall and letting mother nature take care of the stratification.

The worst results were from planting inside and attempting to grow the acorns over the winter under a lamp, of the 20 or so I planted inside only 2 survived with all loss coming from white mold.

The results of the acorns planted outside were about 50% of the acorns grew into seedlings. Durring the spring I lost about half of those to white mold, and again lost another half to insects. That has resulted in about 40 first year seedlings, some have already gone to their new homes to compliment the dwarf apples planted last year. A second round of white oaks are being planted this weekend: 2 Bebs saplings, 1 Schuettes sapling (both naturaly occuring hybrid whites I purchased), and as many plain jane white oak seedlings (querqus alba) in small pots as I can carry. The Bebs have already grown 10 inches (see pic) this year so I am hoping to see this continue.

Attachment 30012

If anyone is interested I have a good free source of White Oak seeds in the Burlington area, on King road about 500m North of the North Service Road on the West side of the road by the new(er) buildings there are two mature white oak trees which could drop acorns this year or next year - good for planting or for deer feeding at your hunting spot.

So, here is my question - American Chestnuts - has anyone tried these in zone 3-4? if so what success have you seen?

What other mast producing trees has anyone had success with in zone 3-4?

Thanks, M.

[fishy steve]

when i have planted oaks, just tossed a naturally cracked acorn in a hole in the ground, and the next spring a oak emerges... the one i planted 5 years ago when we moved in, is now 9 ft tall

[werner.reiche]

I'll pirate your thread a bit and add that anyone in the Pembroke area that wants oak seedlings - about 10" tall, I have quite a few that are growing naturally along a powerline that was bulldozed last summer.

[dutchhunter]

mom and dad have a dozen big white oaks in there back yard ,well thy dropped tons of acorns last fall I mean tons the most I have ever seen any ways we spread mulch on all the gardens this spring and what do you know up pops over 100 seedlings a few weeks latter ,so I did up as many as I can look after and put them in pots and am now looking after a dozen that have really done well ,,not sure on the next step but for now I got them on my front step in pots ,,Dutch

[Marker]

mom and dad have a dozen big white oaks in there back yard ,well thy dropped tons of acorns last fall I mean tons the most I have ever seen any ways we spread mulch on all the gardens this spring and what do you know up pops over 100 seedlings a few weeks latter ,so I did up as many as I can look after and put them in pots and am now looking after a dozen that have really done well ,,not sure on the next step but for now I got them on my front step in pots ,,Dutch

I thought the Dutch only grew tulips and made windmills LOL.

I assume you will be planting common white oaks at your hunting spots, if so here is what I would do:

First ID the type of tree you have. There are a few types of White oaks which grow in your area, each type will require different soil. if you send me a picture of a leaf I can help identify the type of White Oak, but I am going to assume you have a common white which will look like this:



If you want to try to ID the tree yourself compare the leaves here:

http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/pages/compare-oaks.htm



For a common White Oak look for spots with damp slightly acidic soil but with good drainage, common white oaks do not like to be wet (swamp whites are for wet areas). Do not plant your oaks in the wrong soil as they will not do well and may die off. They will tolerate shade when young (and actually do better in shade when young) but require full sun to reach maturity and drop acorns. Also just as important is to plant your seedlings with tree tubes, these will prevent rabbits and deer from eating the seedlings, I have a few I can give you for free and will be in Erieau this weekend for the Derby if you want to drop by or in Burlington any other time.

This is a tree tube (not the white curly plastic bark protector):

[LeakyBoots]

Marker, this is a great thread. I want to encourage more oak growth in my hunting area (Bancroft). When I get a chance to scout the area again I will get a soil sample and ID some of the local oaks.

[Marker]

Marker, this is a great thread. I want to encourage more oak growth in my hunting area (Bancroft). When I get a chance to scout the area again I will get a soil sample and ID some of the local oaks.

I am no expert but have learned a lot the past year so I hope to pass along my experiences so others can experience a better success rate. In respect to your prospective planting location (Bancroft) I would lean towards the Bur Oak (or Bur hybrids) as it has a natural range in that zone (all other White Oaks are more Southern):



I did not mention the zones to Dutch as he is in a warmer area where common Whites are naturally occurring.


Bur Oaks have fuzzy acorn shells (see pic below), if you can find some acorns that's the cheapest thing to do (the closest I know of are in Michigan). Alternatively you can order Bur Saplings from a nursery (Rhora's sells them for $10 each http://www.nuttrees.com/hybrid.htm):

[fishslayer]

leaky boots and I are in the same spot. in the general area, there are many oaks...just not in our direct hunting spot. they are few and far between within 1km of our direct hunting grounds (from my experience). Is the consensus here that white oak is the best way to go?

[Roe+]

Marker, this is a great thread. I want to encourage more oak growth in my hunting area (Bancroft). When I get a chance to scout the area again I will get a soil sample and ID some of the local oaks.

You mean you don't have many oaks? Our camp,in McArthurs Mills is full of them. Good crop of acorns = lots of deer.

Roe+

[fishslayer]

I am no expert but have learned a lot the past year so I hope to pass along my experiences so others can experience a better success rate. In respect to your prospective planting location (Bancroft) I would lean towards the Bur Oak (or Bur hybrids) as it has a natural range in that zone (all other White Oaks are more Southern):



I did not mention the zones to Dutch as he is in a warmer area where common Whites are naturally occurring.


Bur Oaks have fuzzy acorn shells (see pic below), if you can find some acorns that's the cheapest thing to do (the closest I know of are in Michigan). Alternatively you can order Bur Saplings from a nursery (Rhora's sells them for $10 each http://www.nuttrees.com/hybrid.htm):

Great! Thanks! Hey Boots, I think I know where one of these trees is.