Good morning Mark S.. I watched your video several times and this past fall I collected acorns from an admired tree. I followed your method exactly and and excited to report my success! This is a first for me and my 3 babies are just starting to open their first leaves🍁. Thank you for this video. I am looking forward to them getting big enough to plant in my yard. 😊
Hiza! I collected a few acorns in the year 2013 in the WTC memorial park in manhattan.... Thez were in my camera bag forgotten over a year...after a planted them in my garden....Nothing happend....but 5 years after that one of those 4 acorns germinated, it was my best day that month when I realiyed that. I left it there last year, but now in spring I had put it to a nice big pot, with good soil . It looks very well yet.
In europe it's pretty common with carboard milk containers (not sure if you have those int the US). They work really well for planting trees with long taproots.
BEST? He is doing it totally wrong, In nature you want a tap root but for landscape use you want to air prune the tap root to force lateral root branching and a fibrous root system. look up Carl Whitcomb and read up on it.
I pick some up off the ground this spring and did the float test. After that I planted 4 in a hole in the woods. I figured mother nature did the cold work for me and i did the easy work.
Squirrels will come and eat them if you don’t protect them. I’m not an expert, but my estimate is that only 1 in 100,000 acorns that fall from a tree will grow into an adult tree. 1 in 10 acorns won’t get eaten right away and will sprout roots, and of those 1 in 10 acorns won’t get eaten and will become a sapling next spring, and of those saplings 1 in 1,000 won’t get eaten be herbivores. This is because in the tree’s lifetime, it can produce up to a million acorns and if nothing controlled acorns, each one of them grew into an adult tree, and it would be chaos.
Thanks for posting! I collected 100 white oak acorns and have planted them all. Did not know they did not need stratified so the germination has been a little slower. Despite float testing all, nearly 2 months, there are only 3 seedlings popping up so am hoping that they will all come. But definitely slower than I anticipated. Patience is definitely required but so satisfying to know they will be safe from deer and wildlife and can be planted in time!
I’ve planted 3 acorns, 2 were successful, and the last acorn which didn’t work was replaced by a 2 inch tall red maple, that planted itself outside. Update: 1 of the remaining oaks died after transplanting, so did the maple, the last oak got eaten in early September, but it grew back from its roots! It looks perfectly healthy! I’m so proud of my tree. This year, with 1 year of experience planting trees from seed, I’m doing 2 more white oak tree acorns to replace the ones that were lost last year.
We have had 4 oak trees start in our lawn this year. Probably mowed them off a couple of times. I will transplant them soon and not mow them off. The squirrels must have planted them. There are oak trees about a 1/4 mile away. Thanks for the video.
Here in South Jersey I just let the squirrels plant them👍🏻 and then in the spring I dig them up put them in a container and they do great. But I will have to try that!Because I do have Willow Oak Red Oak White Oak 👍🏻Ty
That is a best way to do it!! Most of the acorns I pick up I find by banks, grocery stores, and other stores. If I don't pick them up in the fall they will be trashed, smashed, or mowed down before they start growing. I also plant most of these in areas where no other oaks are located so, self seeding isn't possible. Thanks for watching and providing a great tip to others!
Great video. Some information here contradicts what I've seen in other videos with respect to starting Bur Oaks (particularly related to preserving the tap root vs. starting in Rootmaker pots). But what you say makes sense--seems like the tap root is pretty important to these trees. Now, a question: Lots of videos on RUclips on how to 'start' Bur Oaks from acorns. But need details on when, in the development cycle, is the best time to transfer them to the ground, and tips for ensuring they survive and thrive once transferred. Thanks!
Mark, thanks for the video. I appreciate the detail you went into. I live in Central Florida in a subdivision called Bent Oak. Many are cutting down sick and old pine and oak trees. I am one of the few homeowners re-planting Live Oaks only (Quercus Virginiana) from the White Oak family (no Laurel or Water Oaks). I have 3 store bought Oaks that I planted successfully. However, I have only one, a fourth, that I have grown successfully from the acorn of one of the others after trying with approximately a hundred or so over a 10 year period. I keep failing at various points in the process. I would like to grow my Live Oaks in water only until I can see shoots come up at which time I will then transplant them to a pot with a method I have devised for protecting them from squirrels. I am getting incomplete information on how to plant them in water. Can you give me some advice to increase my chances of success getting them started in water only?
Over 7-8 years I have a 12-15 foot tree I just planted the acorn like a normal seed in dirt and it grew find after that summer I planted it outside for the winter
Thank you😻 I tried to germinate Live Oaks here in the low mountains of northern Calif’ at 1000’ to 2000’. i failed. Do u have any suggestions for Live & Blue oaks. I did clean for holes but not sure how long to stratify. Great program🌿🌳
Just found your video. When starting these trees an they start growing do they need to be kept indoors over the winter or do they need to stay outside so the tree will know the seasons. Say like I started growing one in the spring an decided to keep it in the pot an not plant it that year an waited till the following spring to plant so where does it need to be stored that winter. Thanks
Great video! May ask a few questions?: Where did you get those containers? Do you have website link? I know you mentioned square is better, so is trying Amazon just fine? I have land in South Carolina, but I live in New York. Do you have any tips for me to nurse my acorns out of pots in NY until I can plant them to fend for themselves in SC? What is the best time of the year do this process prior to taking a trip down south to plant them? How should I pretreat my land to optimize growth for the trees? Thank you for your help.
Thanks for watching! Here is where I buy my containers: stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/ I have also used many of this type: stuewe.com/product-category/deepots-trays/ I don't use them much, because they need to be watered more often, in zone 6 in the summer. They would probably work pretty good in NY. As for growing them in NY and planting in SC. It shouldn't be much of a problem. You would want to start the seeds in the spring and let them grow until late fall, winter, early spring to plant. If that timing doesn't work with your travel times just adjust as needed. Best time to transplant ins fall through spring. If you over-winter them in NY I would put them in the garage or basement during winter. As for land prep, just make sure the trees will get plenty of sun. You don't want to plant oaks in the shade, but there are other types that will grow in shade. I'm not sure what type of grass you have there, but you could kill it off before you plant. Hopefully that helps! Thanks again for watching!
I have managed to only find 2 roburs in my area and I'm having there acorns this autumn. I plan to germinate as many as possible. My question is could I stratify them using compost and dry leaves. Then add moisture. Oh you answered my question. Will toilet roll work? I suppose it depends if the weevil eats the embryos. Since robur is white oak I shouldn't need to stratify them right. Help I need some advice.
Hey Ben! I would either plant them after you pick them up, or put them in the fridge in peat or coconut coir. Being a white oak they probably do not need to stratification in the fridge but you don’t want them to germinate without having somewhere to plant them. The fridge will delay their germination until spring or whenever you take them out. Does that help? Thanks for watching!
If you are wanting to keep them in the containers till they are 2 years old do you keep them indoors over the winter or keep them outdoors so they experience natural temperatures?
Thanks for the great video..do you have one on Live Oaks? I'm from Louisiana and the pine beetles have killed the pines on our property so I'm going to plant for the next generation!
I have grown some burr oaks and valley oaks from acorns in pots but they only extist and do not flourish, is there some kind of fertilizer I should be using when they are tiny? I recently transfered some valley oaks to bigger pots, broke off some roots that had grown out the drain holes and one of these roots is starting to grow oak leaves, is this common?
I live in North Central Florida where I found Swamp Chestnut Oak growing. This year it was loaded with very big acorns. I have managed to find a few that have fallen on the road easement. The acorns look just like the white oak ones. Would I need to treat as a white or red oak?
Thanks for watching! Swap Chestnut oak is a white oak. It doesn’t require cold stratification but germination rate will be lower. With just 30 days of cold stratification the number of acorns that germinated doubled which was a 95-98% success rate.
So true! I pick about 100 pecans today and have 300-400 acorns ready for this year. I will be getting the walnuts later this week! Thanks for watching!
Yes, there are a few white oaks that do. Bur oaks need 30-60 days of cold stratification before they will germinate. That isn't much, so a lot of times they will germinate if you plant them in the fall; however, they are a favorite for the squirrels so many get dug up during that time. I have had really good luck leaving Bur acorns in the the refrigerator on a bed of damp peat moss over the winter. The important tips: don't let them dry out and they need to breath (plastic bags are fine, but don't seal it closed) I use shallow totes. When planting in the spring, protect from the squirrels. Hopefully this helps! Thanks for watching!!
@@markshep03 Don't the acorns germinate over winter in refrigerator? I am in zone 4 and would prefer to wait until spring to plant. So think the process would be to gather after drop, water test, store in refrigerator until spring, germinate in house on top of peat moss in May then plant. Please advise.
@@HabitatDave Thanks for watching. So lets make sure we are using the same terms. Germinate is when the seed starts growing and Stratification is the storage process at a certain term to help with germination. Some acorns require stratification and some do not. It really depends on the type of oak. Most acorns will be fine stored or stratified over winter in the refrigerator. You will need to check on them and make sure they don't start germinating in the refrigerator, if so just plant them early. Otherwise just plant them in the spring after you have stratified them over the winter. Hopefully, that makes sense. Thanks again for watching!
Do swamp white oaks need stratification? If they don't would you still try to get them to germinate the same way in the fridge? Would you think fridge temp is critical?
Thanks for the feedback, John. Yes, normally the overwinter just fine in these containers. We are in zone 7 so it doesn't get that cold in winter. However, this year will be the test of a lifetime. We had record cold temps, -15 F one night and -5 F the next. I believe we were below freezing for 12 or 14 days. This is not normal for us, and I should have moved the trees into the shop, but did not. I will update you in the coming weeks if they survived.
@@markshep03 thanks for the quick reply. I'm in zone 7. I start lots of oaks and other hardwoods in my basement. I'll be getting to that in the next week or so. Then I plant them outside after last frost. The little seedlings seem to struggle for the first 3 years or so. I like the looks of yours. I would love to overwinter some and plant out the following spring. Just struggle with ideas of what to do with the potted seedlings over the winter months. Do you cover them with mulch or straw....or do you just leave them out? And good luck. I hope they made it thru that cold snap for you. Keep me posted. Also, where do you get those pots?
You can also find colonies of ants that live inside acorns. They are very tiny, and the entire colony can live in one acorn. I've also found 5 Weevil larvae in a acorn that didn't have a hole in it at all.
Thanks for watching! Yes, the weevils live inside until they are ready to emerge, then they chew the hole through the shell. When the adult lays the egg in the acorn it’s just a tiny hole that can’t be seen.
I live near Chicago, it gets cold here. It's 09/04, I just collected a bunch of white oak acorns and am wondering if I sprout right now and let them grow for the Fall do I leave them outside in pots over winter? My plan was to get them going and group 10-12 pots in a South facing mulch pile for winter protection and put them out next spring once they fill in the pots. Does this sound like a good plan?
I think that's a good plan. They will likely need to be in a mulch pile to not freeze too hard in the winter. I'm not sure they would survive in just the pot.
Hi, I'm in the zone 5, close to zone 4. How would I winter the white oak if I plant in pots this fall? Hard to find good info for this far north. Thanks
I would wait and plant them in the spring. If you keep them cool it will help keep them from geminating. If you really want to plant them in the fall, I would try to bury the containers. To try and keep them from freezing. I'm not sure if that would work, just trying to give you some ideas. Thanks for watching and please report back how they do over the winter.
SUB #858. Thanks for the information. Just curious why shouldn't you automatically burn the acorns with the holes to help keep the weevils from spreading?
Thanks for watching and subscribing!!! So that’s a great question. The acorn doesn’t actually get the hole until the weevil chews out. It’s just a tiny hole you can’t see when the adult lays the egg inside. So it’s really hard to know which ones are bad, until it’s too late. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks again for watching!
I've got three acorns that I sprouted after two years in the fridge. I am going to plant them in milk cartons with holes on the bottom. It's almost fall. Should I keep them indoors or should I put them outside for the winter ? When you said the tree goes dormant, do you keep it inside ? And if so, how does the tree know to go dormant if the temperature stays steady from being indoors ?
Just to be clear, it started to send out the root? If so, yes you can keep inside over the winter. You can also plant the seed in the ground and it will grow the tap root this fall. Then this spring it should send up a sprout above ground. You will need to put cage or wire around it if you have many deer or rabbits.
@@markshep03 Yes, the acorns sprouted in the ziplock bag in the fridge. The sprouts were about three inches long, so I guess that is the tap root. I planted them in milk cartons and now they are starting to shoot up. One is an inch high, the others are half that size. I kept them outside, but now I have them inside, as the night as been getting close to freezing point (I live in Northern Québec). I'll plant them maybe next spring. Looks like I'll have saplings/seedlings/small trees by next year, whatever they are called. Thanks.
I just picked some green acorns off of 2 oaks of mine, both white oak family acorns. 1 is Swamp white oak and the other is Chestnut oak. I am now wondering if picking them green is a no no. I want to mail them to a friend in Maryland so that she can grow an oak or 2. So is picking them green off the tree going to result in acorns that will not germinate? I wanted to beat the deer to them, and get them before weevils get them too.
I've had mixed results picking them from the tree. Most of the time I have had better luck when they are start falling. Then you can get them off the ground and off the tree. Good luck!
Normally you don’t remove the hard shell, however they will probably still grow. I’ve had plenty of them grow without the shells. With that said they will be more prone to physical damage and dry out quicker without the shell. Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@markshep03 Thanks for your response, I have just prepared the seeds with paper towel and inside the refrigerator. I will take a look several weeks after!!
I don't. I'm in zone 6/7 so it really doesn't get cold enough to kill them. With that said, last year got to -15 for a day and stayed below freezing for 14-15 days. That killed quite a few of my trees. I will bring them into my shop or garage if its going to get that cold again. Thanks for watching!
Absolutely. But there are some advantages to stratification in the fridge. The first being constant temp. If you have a seed that needs 120 days of stratification, but there is a warm winter those seeds might not germinate outside. If they are in the fridge you don't have to worry about it. It also helps protect from predators. During winter many seeds are dug up and eaten by animals. If you plant in spring they have a better chance of survival. Thanks for watching!
2 questions: After transplanting my oak tree outside last April after planting it in October 2021, keeping it inside all of last winter, my oak tree lost its main stem in September and all that was left of it was a 1 inch tall stub. It grew 2 branches to the side, but as of November 9, 2022, my oak tree still isn’t changing color and it didn’t grow back the main stem. Will my oak tree grow back its main stem next summer? When will my oak tree change color?
I found your video after I refrigerated my acorns. I have about 50 Sand Live oak acorns that i put in ziplock bags with potting soil on Nov 8th. What are the risks with using potting soil?
The biggest issue would be mold, however I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you do see any start to get moldy just remove them so that it doesn’t spread. They should be fine. Thanks for watching and please report back after you plant them!
It was interesting what you said about the shape of the containers encouraging downward root growth. I was curious, where do you buy your containers from?
Brown or greenish brown is best. Most of the time mine still have caps and I remove them. Once they start to fall I will pick them off the ground and any I can reach in the trees. Good luck and thanks for watching
You're a genius. Thank you for the informative video. It was amazing. Also wanted to ask you some questions. I'm thinking of planting a large number of acorns in a nearby forest soon. Was wondering what the typical spacing should be between adjacent acorns? Also what should be done to protect the acorns from predators(such as squirrels, birds etc) when grown in the wild? Also if you could kindly give me your email address for further contacting, I shall be most grateful.
I normally plant them in a compost and peat mix so no fertilizer needed the first year. I tried some this year, and I don't plan on doing that again. I water once a week if they are in the 12" containers. Mine are in part shade, however I have planted many in full sun without issue. I think full sun is better, but you will need to water more. Thanks for watching!!
Thank You so nuch for your information...I have sand, but Amazon will pervide me with peat moss, and good dirt .agin Thank You..Happy Hoildays Barbie..
Hopefully they didn’t get too cold in the freezer. I normally keep mine in the refrigerator. I know a lot of people use double ground pine bark and it seems to work pretty well. Not sure how fine yours is.
@@markshep03 I recently bought a 160 acres of forest land 20 miles from the Canadian border in Washington State I cleared a lot of the trees I wanted to plant some oaks I have seasonal a stream and another little bog area so I have soggy areas so I could be sure some of the trees get moisture but I have cows going through the property on seasonal basis will they interfere with the leaves of the saplings also a lot of dear
Yes, they will eat them! Some oaks take a long time to produce their first acorns, and others will produce in about 5-8 years. I'm no expert, but I believe sawtooth oaks are some of the fasting producing oaks out there. The sawtooth oaks at my local Aldi store are maybe 8 years old and they produced thousands of acorns this year!
The white oaks are actually sweet like most normal edible nuts. The red oaks are bitter from the tannins. Squirrels hide the red ones till spring when they have less tannins and are more palatable
Depends where you live. In Oklahoma where I live outside in the container is fine most years. A couple years ago it got down to -10 of so and stayed below freezing for 13-14 days. That wasn’t a good year.
White oak trees are native to California and Oregon, where it gets very hot and lots of drought. They are well acclimated to that climate, if you live on the west coast.
If they are started in full sunlight they will be fine. If you start them in the shade however, you will need to slowly introduce them to full sunlight.
At what stage in their development can you pick them, can you pick them early and let them finish off in your window like a tomato or an apple Does anybody know?
Hey Keith! First, I would like to thank you watching! This is where I ordered mine in the past. I don't remember how many I ordered, maybe 100, but have been re-using them for a few years. At some point I will have to replace them but so far they have held up pretty well. stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/
Great question. I have seen them for sale on Esty and Facebook. I've never bought them, I just go to parks/shopping centers and pick them up. I also have seen many post in some of the Facebook gardening groups talking about acorns in their yards. Remember, many white oak acorns have a big crop every couple years.
What do you do with the white oaks over winter when you plant them in the fall? I am in Zone 4 if I left them even in my garage over winter they would freeze SOLID.
Have you ever tried using a squirrel ? Hey they are pretty handy this way. Gives you time to kick back and have a beer. And them old oak trees, why they just about grow themselves
Depends on the type of oak tree. 0-90 days are the most common but there are a few that take 120 days. I normally put them in until spring then I plant them. A little extra doesn’t seem to hurt them.
As someone whom planted trees, hundreds of trees. Planting them directly where you want them, works better then planting them in a container. For me. Also, the PH, and location can be quirky, so, you need to make sure the tree wants to be there. dont plant a swamp oak, on top of a mountain. Also, 40% peat? whoa. I've never seen anyone use that much peat moss. But, we also mix with local soil. So, we know our local soil's clay content, or, sand, etc.
@@jeremygonzales663 so bought some little clay pots and started my seeds in there. After a few weeks I transplanted them in a bigger pot that I bought from Lowe's. I am planning to transplant them into the dirt this winter. The pots are a bit shorter but bigger around in diameter and are a few dollars a piece. So far my trees are doing fairly well the heat is a bigger problem because I live in Texas.
"A society grows great when its old men sow seeds of great trees, whose shade they know they will never sit in." -Ancient Greek proverb.
This is one I've always loved
yes indeed.
Vow, great and wise proverb. thanks
That's me. LOL. Age 67 and planting oaks for the first time from acorns like crazy. Great video. Thank you.
Good morning Mark S.. I watched your video several times and this past fall I collected acorns from an admired tree. I followed your method exactly and and excited to report my success! This is a first for me and my 3 babies are just starting to open their first leaves🍁. Thank you for this video. I am looking forward to them getting big enough to plant in my yard. 😊
That’s good to hear. I’m going to try with 2 of our local oaks here in northern Calif’.
Hiza! I collected a few acorns in the year 2013 in the WTC memorial park in manhattan.... Thez were in my camera bag forgotten over a year...after a planted them in my garden....Nothing happend....but 5 years after that one of those 4 acorns germinated, it was my best day that month when I realiyed that. I left it there last year, but now in spring I had put it to a nice big pot, with good soil . It looks very well yet.
In europe it's pretty common with carboard milk containers (not sure if you have those int the US). They work really well for planting trees with long taproots.
Great idea! We do have these in the US.
One of the best vids on RUclips for this! Thanks for all the info
BEST? He is doing it totally wrong, In nature you want a tap root but for landscape use you want to air prune the tap root to force lateral root branching and a fibrous root system. look up Carl Whitcomb and read up on it.
Thank you for the information. I found red oak acorns today at the college, now I will try to start them .
I collected 456 White Oak acorns this week, water tested them and planted 110 of them.
What are u using them for
@@ducksongfans
Planting trees.... ☮️
Deer love them as well as other wildlife
Great to have in your woodland habitat
@@gafairbanks2434
Yeah, we have deer, squirrel and raccoons in our yard often...
@@ducksongfans
Are you an Oregonian ?
Gonna grow a Coast Live Oak for fun, so this was helpful! Plus, the tree’ll help the local ecosystem.
I pick some up off the ground this spring and did the float test. After that I planted 4 in a hole in the woods. I figured mother nature did the cold work for me and i did the easy work.
Squirrels will come and eat them if you don’t protect them. I’m not an expert, but my estimate is that only 1 in 100,000 acorns that fall from a tree will grow into an adult tree. 1 in 10 acorns won’t get eaten right away and will sprout roots, and of those 1 in 10 acorns won’t get eaten and will become a sapling next spring, and of those saplings 1 in 1,000 won’t get eaten be herbivores. This is because in the tree’s lifetime, it can produce up to a million acorns and if nothing controlled acorns, each one of them grew into an adult tree, and it would be chaos.
Thanks for posting! I collected 100 white oak acorns and have planted them all. Did not know they did not need stratified so the germination has been a little slower. Despite float testing all, nearly 2 months, there are only 3 seedlings popping up so am hoping that they will all come. But definitely slower than I anticipated. Patience is definitely required but so satisfying to know they will be safe from deer and wildlife and can be planted in time!
I’ve planted 3 acorns, 2 were successful, and the last acorn which didn’t work was replaced by a 2 inch tall red maple, that planted itself outside.
Update: 1 of the remaining oaks died after transplanting, so did the maple, the last oak got eaten in early September, but it grew back from its roots! It looks perfectly healthy! I’m so proud of my tree. This year, with 1 year of experience planting trees from seed, I’m doing 2 more white oak tree acorns to replace the ones that were lost last year.
Thanks you🌱 for planting oak trees 🌱👍🌱😊🌱🌿🍃🌲🌳🌱🍃🌿🌳🌳🌳
Useful information. I collected 50 or so Pin oak acorns and will try to germinate and plant them in spring.
Pin oaks normally do pretty good. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Great tips! During stratification keep those acorns moist in sand or peatmoss. Deep channeled pots for the developing roots sake are my takeaways.
Just what I've been looking for!
We have had 4 oak trees start in our lawn this year. Probably mowed them off a couple of times. I will transplant them soon and not mow them off. The squirrels must have planted them. There are oak trees about a 1/4 mile away. Thanks for the video.
Here in South Jersey I just let the squirrels plant them👍🏻 and then in the spring I dig them up put them in a container and they do great. But I will have to try that!Because I do have Willow Oak Red Oak White Oak 👍🏻Ty
That is a best way to do it!!
Most of the acorns I pick up I find by banks, grocery stores, and other stores. If I don't pick them up in the fall they will be trashed, smashed, or mowed down before they start growing. I also plant most of these in areas where no other oaks are located so, self seeding isn't possible.
Thanks for watching and providing a great tip to others!
I have 6 walnuts, one oak and one maple I dug out of yards and potted. I will plant them next year.
How do you dig them? Would love some detail - the ones I dug out die immediately :(
Super helpful. I appreciate it
Keep on doing great job 👍👍👍👍
I just heard from an Ole timer that sprinkling with cinnamon stops the molding issue ! Can't wait to try it !
Wow never heard that. I might give it a try this year. Thanks!
@@markshep03
Your welcome, hope it does work.
Never know till we give it a try.
Very informative. Good luck with your channel
Thank you!
Great video. Some information here contradicts what I've seen in other videos with respect to starting Bur Oaks (particularly related to preserving the tap root vs. starting in Rootmaker pots). But what you say makes sense--seems like the tap root is pretty important to these trees. Now, a question: Lots of videos on RUclips on how to 'start' Bur Oaks from acorns. But need details on when, in the development cycle, is the best time to transfer them to the ground, and tips for ensuring they survive and thrive once transferred. Thanks!
I've had the white oak acorns hit the ground in my yard, and germinate inside of 10days a little pink tip will crack the shell. Ready to plant.
I am very appreciative....thank-you! BC
Thank you so much for this ❤️
Mark, thanks for the video. I appreciate the detail you went into. I live in Central Florida in a subdivision called Bent Oak. Many are cutting down sick and old pine and oak trees. I am one of the few homeowners re-planting Live Oaks only (Quercus Virginiana) from the White Oak family (no Laurel or Water Oaks). I have 3 store bought Oaks that I planted successfully.
However, I have only one, a fourth, that I have grown successfully from the acorn of one of the others after trying with approximately a hundred or so over a 10 year period. I keep failing at various points in the process. I would like to grow my Live Oaks in water only until I can see shoots come up at which time I will then transplant them to a pot with a method I have devised for protecting them from squirrels.
I am getting incomplete information on how to plant them in water. Can you give me some advice to increase my chances of success getting them started in water only?
Awesome i love it.
Over 7-8 years I have a 12-15 foot tree I just planted the acorn like a normal seed in dirt and it grew find after that summer I planted it outside for the winter
Great video. Thanks Mark
Thank you!!!!
What type of containers did you buy? I have saplings that are 4” tall that I need to transplant. How long will they stay in the first pot?
Thank you😻 I tried to germinate Live Oaks here in the low mountains of northern Calif’ at 1000’ to 2000’. i failed. Do u have any suggestions for Live & Blue oaks. I did clean for holes but not sure how long to stratify. Great program🌿🌳
Just found your video. When starting these trees an they start growing do they need to be kept indoors over the winter or do they need to stay outside so the tree will know the seasons. Say like I started growing one in the spring an decided to keep it in the pot an not plant it that year an waited till the following spring to plant so where does it need to be stored that winter. Thanks
Great video! May ask a few questions?:
Where did you get those containers? Do you have website link?
I know you mentioned square is better, so is trying Amazon just fine?
I have land in South Carolina, but I live in New York. Do you have any tips for me to nurse my acorns out of pots in NY until I can plant them to fend for themselves in SC?
What is the best time of the year do this process prior to taking a trip down south to plant them?
How should I pretreat my land to optimize growth for the trees?
Thank you for your help.
Thanks for watching!
Here is where I buy my containers: stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/
I have also used many of this type: stuewe.com/product-category/deepots-trays/
I don't use them much, because they need to be watered more often, in zone 6 in the summer. They would probably work pretty good in NY.
As for growing them in NY and planting in SC. It shouldn't be much of a problem. You would want to start the seeds in the spring and let them grow until late fall, winter, early spring to plant. If that timing doesn't work with your travel times just adjust as needed. Best time to transplant ins fall through spring.
If you over-winter them in NY I would put them in the garage or basement during winter.
As for land prep, just make sure the trees will get plenty of sun. You don't want to plant oaks in the shade, but there are other types that will grow in shade. I'm not sure what type of grass you have there, but you could kill it off before you plant.
Hopefully that helps! Thanks again for watching!
I have managed to only find 2 roburs in my area and I'm having there acorns this autumn. I plan to germinate as many as possible. My question is could I stratify them using compost and dry leaves. Then add moisture. Oh you answered my question. Will toilet roll work? I suppose it depends if the weevil eats the embryos. Since robur is white oak I shouldn't need to stratify them right. Help I need some advice.
Hey Ben! I would either plant them after you pick them up, or put them in the fridge in peat or coconut coir. Being a white oak they probably do not need to stratification in the fridge but you don’t want them to germinate without having somewhere to plant them. The fridge will delay their germination until spring or whenever you take them out. Does that help?
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much
If you are wanting to keep them in the containers till they are 2 years old do you keep them indoors over the winter or keep them outdoors so they experience natural temperatures?
Thanks for the great video..do you have one on Live Oaks? I'm from Louisiana and the pine beetles have killed the pines on our property so I'm going to plant for the next generation!
If I am just using paper towels for the germination process on white oak acorns, how wet should I keep them and should the container be covered?
I have grown some burr oaks and valley oaks from acorns in pots but they only extist and do not flourish, is there some kind of fertilizer I should be using when they are tiny?
I recently transfered some valley oaks to bigger pots, broke off some roots that had grown out the drain holes and one of these roots is starting to grow oak leaves, is this common?
Thanks Mark!!
My pleasure!
Great video and very informative!! Could you provide a link for those black 12” containers you used please?
Thank you for your kind words!
I ordered from this company: stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/
@@markshep03
I have been looking for these for 2 yrs. now.
Bless you for posting ! Guess I never knew the correct dimensions.
Nice! I'm trying this!
I live in North Central Florida where I found Swamp Chestnut Oak growing. This year it was loaded with very big acorns. I have managed to find a few that have fallen on the road easement. The acorns look just like the white oak ones. Would I need to treat as a white or red oak?
Thanks for watching!
Swap Chestnut oak is a white oak. It doesn’t require cold stratification but germination rate will be lower. With just 30 days of cold stratification the number of acorns that germinated doubled which was a 95-98% success rate.
Oaks, walnut, and pecan trees create whole ecosystems here in Texas
So true! I pick about 100 pecans today and have 300-400 acorns ready for this year. I will be getting the walnuts later this week!
Thanks for watching!
They do indeed, even here in the desert of West Texas we have a little forest
great advice! Do you know if any white oak species need winter hardening off? I'm trying to germinate burr oak acorns, but so far no luck.
Yes, there are a few white oaks that do. Bur oaks need 30-60 days of cold stratification before they will germinate. That isn't much, so a lot of times they will germinate if you plant them in the fall; however, they are a favorite for the squirrels so many get dug up during that time.
I have had really good luck leaving Bur acorns in the the refrigerator on a bed of damp peat moss over the winter. The important tips: don't let them dry out and they need to breath (plastic bags are fine, but don't seal it closed) I use shallow totes.
When planting in the spring, protect from the squirrels.
Hopefully this helps! Thanks for watching!!
@@markshep03 Don't the acorns germinate over winter in refrigerator? I am in zone 4 and would prefer to wait until spring to plant. So think the process would be to gather after drop, water test, store in refrigerator until spring, germinate in house on top of peat moss in May then plant. Please advise.
@@HabitatDave Thanks for watching. So lets make sure we are using the same terms. Germinate is when the seed starts growing and Stratification is the storage process at a certain term to help with germination. Some acorns require stratification and some do not. It really depends on the type of oak.
Most acorns will be fine stored or stratified over winter in the refrigerator. You will need to check on them and make sure they don't start germinating in the refrigerator, if so just plant them early. Otherwise just plant them in the spring after you have stratified them over the winter.
Hopefully, that makes sense. Thanks again for watching!
This is cool stuff! Silly question: Are the acorns any good if they were not collected before a frost/freeze?
Do swamp white oaks need stratification? If they don't would you still try to get them to germinate the same way in the fridge? Would you think fridge temp is critical?
No need for stratification with swamp white oaks. I gathered, floated and then planted last fall. I had great germination results.
Me gusto mucho tu video gracias 🇲🇽
Will the scarlet red oak grow in central Florida with our hot weather and mild winter?
Thanks for watching. I'm not very knowledgeable on the scarlet red oak.
Mark, great video. Just wondering if you over winter in those pots? If so how do you do that?
Thanks for the feedback, John. Yes, normally the overwinter just fine in these containers. We are in zone 7 so it doesn't get that cold in winter. However, this year will be the test of a lifetime. We had record cold temps, -15 F one night and -5 F the next. I believe we were below freezing for 12 or 14 days. This is not normal for us, and I should have moved the trees into the shop, but did not. I will update you in the coming weeks if they survived.
@@markshep03 thanks for the quick reply. I'm in zone 7. I start lots of oaks and other hardwoods in my basement. I'll be getting to that in the next week or so. Then I plant them outside after last frost. The little seedlings seem to struggle for the first 3 years or so. I like the looks of yours. I would love to overwinter some and plant out the following spring. Just struggle with ideas of what to do with the potted seedlings over the winter months. Do you cover them with mulch or straw....or do you just leave them out? And good luck. I hope they made it thru that cold snap for you. Keep me posted. Also, where do you get those pots?
You can also find colonies of ants that live inside acorns. They are very tiny, and the entire colony can live in one acorn. I've also found 5 Weevil larvae in a acorn that didn't have a hole in it at all.
Thanks for watching! Yes, the weevils live inside until they are ready to emerge, then they chew the hole through the shell. When the adult lays the egg in the acorn it’s just a tiny hole that can’t be seen.
I live near Chicago, it gets cold here. It's 09/04, I just collected a bunch of white oak acorns and am wondering if I sprout right now and let them grow for the Fall do I leave them outside in pots over winter? My plan was to get them going and group 10-12 pots in a South facing mulch pile for winter protection and put them out next spring once they fill in the pots. Does this sound like a good plan?
Following as I’m
In Galena,IL
I think that's a good plan. They will likely need to be in a mulch pile to not freeze too hard in the winter. I'm not sure they would survive in just the pot.
Can you tell me where I can get those pots?
Hi, I'm in the zone 5, close to zone 4. How would I winter the white oak if I plant in pots this fall? Hard to find good info for this far north. Thanks
I would wait and plant them in the spring. If you keep them cool it will help keep them from geminating. If you really want to plant them in the fall, I would try to bury the containers. To try and keep them from freezing. I'm not sure if that would work, just trying to give you some ideas. Thanks for watching and please report back how they do over the winter.
@@markshep03 Thank you
SUB #858. Thanks for the information. Just curious why shouldn't you automatically burn the acorns with the holes to help keep the weevils from spreading?
Thanks for watching and subscribing!!! So that’s a great question. The acorn doesn’t actually get the hole until the weevil chews out. It’s just a tiny hole you can’t see when the adult lays the egg inside. So it’s really hard to know which ones are bad, until it’s too late. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks again for watching!
Where did you order those 12 inch long pots from?
I've got three acorns that I sprouted after two years in the fridge. I am going to plant them in milk cartons with holes on the bottom. It's almost fall. Should I keep them indoors or should I put them outside for the winter ?
When you said the tree goes dormant, do you keep it inside ? And if so, how does the tree know to go dormant if the temperature stays steady from being indoors ?
Just to be clear, it started to send out the root? If so, yes you can keep inside over the winter. You can also plant the seed in the ground and it will grow the tap root this fall. Then this spring it should send up a sprout above ground. You will need to put cage or wire around it if you have many deer or rabbits.
@@markshep03 Yes, the acorns sprouted in the ziplock bag in the fridge. The sprouts were about three inches long, so I guess that is the tap root. I planted them in milk cartons and now they are starting to shoot up. One is an inch high, the others are half that size. I kept them outside, but now I have them inside, as the night as been getting close to freezing point (I live in Northern Québec). I'll plant them maybe next spring. Looks like I'll have saplings/seedlings/small trees by next year, whatever they are called. Thanks.
I just picked some green acorns off of 2 oaks of mine, both white oak family acorns. 1 is Swamp white oak and the other is Chestnut oak. I am now wondering if picking them green is a no no.
I want to mail them to a friend in Maryland so that she can grow an oak or 2.
So is picking them green off the tree going to result in acorns that will not germinate?
I wanted to beat the deer to them, and get them before weevils get them too.
I've had mixed results picking them from the tree. Most of the time I have had better luck when they are start falling. Then you can get them off the ground and off the tree. Good luck!
Hello Mark, if I have acorns but I removed the hard shell, is it possible to make them germinate without their hard shell?
Normally you don’t remove the hard shell, however they will probably still grow. I’ve had plenty of them grow without the shells. With that said they will be more prone to physical damage and dry out quicker without the shell. Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@markshep03 Thanks for your response, I have just prepared the seeds with paper towel and inside the refrigerator. I will take a look several weeks after!!
Do you bring the trees in the house the young saplings when it gets cold
I don't. I'm in zone 6/7 so it really doesn't get cold enough to kill them. With that said, last year got to -15 for a day and stayed below freezing for 14-15 days. That killed quite a few of my trees. I will bring them into my shop or garage if its going to get that cold again. Thanks for watching!
Where do you get containers like that? The narrow tall black pot???
stuewe.com
Can I bury them straight in the ground outside or in a pot with soil outside? Any problem with that? Why the hassle with the fridge?
Absolutely. But there are some advantages to stratification in the fridge.
The first being constant temp. If you have a seed that needs 120 days of stratification, but there is a warm winter those seeds might not germinate outside. If they are in the fridge you don't have to worry about it.
It also helps protect from predators. During winter many seeds are dug up and eaten by animals. If you plant in spring they have a better chance of survival.
Thanks for watching!
2 questions: After transplanting my oak tree outside last April after planting it in October 2021, keeping it inside all of last winter, my oak tree lost its main stem in September and all that was left of it was a 1 inch tall stub. It grew 2 branches to the side, but as of November 9, 2022, my oak tree still isn’t changing color and it didn’t grow back the main stem.
Will my oak tree grow back its main stem next summer?
When will my oak tree change color?
Possibly. If the root survives the winter it will send up a new trunk in the spring.
At what point is the sprout no longer appealing to squirrels? I planted some and the squirrels dug them up.
I think it depends on other sources of food the squirrels. MIne really did damage early, but once they had more food they haven't touched them since.
If one of my sprouted acorns has mold, will it still grow?
Yes, it should be fine.
If the mold just started, can you wash it off? Will the acorn be ok?
Possibly… I’m really not sure but you will want to keep it away from the others.
What are those tall thinish tree planting pots called? Where to buy them what are they called so I can search them? Thanks!!
Here is where I buy most of my containers. I use root makers and others.
stuewe.com/
Do you put ozmcoat fertilizer mix with the soil mix ?
Not year one. Year two I’ll mix some in. Thanks for watching!
I found your video after I refrigerated my acorns. I have about 50 Sand Live oak acorns that i put in ziplock bags with potting soil on Nov 8th. What are the risks with using potting soil?
The biggest issue would be mold, however I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you do see any start to get moldy just remove them so that it doesn’t spread. They should be fine. Thanks for watching and please report back after you plant them!
Heard using sand is best and sprinkle lightly some cinnamon atop. Stops mold & mildew issues in their tracks.
It was interesting what you said about the shape of the containers encouraging downward root growth. I was curious, where do you buy your containers from?
Yes I would like to know as well. Thank you!
stuewe.com/ is where I order most of mine.
stuewe.com/
he is using the wrong containers, Look up Carl Whitcomb root containers
Does it matter if it has the cap/ or if it’s green verses brown?
Brown or greenish brown is best. Most of the time mine still have caps and I remove them. Once they start to fall I will pick them off the ground and any I can reach in the trees. Good luck and thanks for watching
You're a genius. Thank you for the informative video. It was amazing.
Also wanted to ask you some questions. I'm thinking of planting a large number of acorns in a nearby forest soon. Was wondering what the typical spacing should be between adjacent acorns? Also what should be done to protect the acorns from predators(such as squirrels, birds etc) when grown in the wild?
Also if you could kindly give me your email address for further contacting, I shall be most grateful.
How about nc live oak? Stratification??
how often did you water, fertilize etc. also were they grown in full sun or part shade the first year
I normally plant them in a compost and peat mix so no fertilizer needed the first year. I tried some this year, and I don't plan on doing that again.
I water once a week if they are in the 12" containers. Mine are in part shade, however I have planted many in full sun without issue. I think full sun is better, but you will need to water more.
Thanks for watching!!
Thank You so nuch for your information...I have sand, but Amazon will pervide me with peat moss, and good dirt .agin Thank You..Happy Hoildays Barbie..
I have 7000 of acorn still in the freezer I wonder if pinebark( the medium kind ) would work to plant them in
Hopefully they didn’t get too cold in the freezer. I normally keep mine in the refrigerator.
I know a lot of people use double ground pine bark and it seems to work pretty well. Not sure how fine yours is.
@@markshep03 I recently bought a 160 acres of forest land 20 miles from the Canadian border in Washington State I cleared a lot of the trees I wanted to plant some oaks I have seasonal a stream and another little bog area so I have soggy areas so I could be sure some of the trees get moisture but I have cows going through the property on seasonal basis will they interfere with the leaves of the saplings also a lot of dear
Hello, how long did you leave the acorns in the bucket with water?
24 hrs +-
Are swamp white oaks as beneficial to the wildlife as a white oak?
Yes, they will eat them! Some oaks take a long time to produce their first acorns, and others will produce in about 5-8 years. I'm no expert, but I believe sawtooth oaks are some of the fasting producing oaks out there. The sawtooth oaks at my local Aldi store are maybe 8 years old and they produced thousands of acorns this year!
The white oaks are actually sweet like most normal edible nuts. The red oaks are bitter from the tannins. Squirrels hide the red ones till spring when they have less tannins and are more palatable
How do u overwinter in the pots? Outside? Protected?
Depends where you live. In Oklahoma where I live outside in the container is fine most years. A couple years ago it got down to -10 of so and stayed below freezing for 13-14 days. That wasn’t a good year.
How wet do you keep them in the germination process
Just keep the peat/soil damp. You don’t want standing water.
Where can I buy those pots ? They look perfect
stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/
Thanks for watching!
I was going to ask the same thing, thanks
Is it possible to grow oak at a temperature of 20-30 degree Celsius
Yes they should grow just fine.
White oak trees are native to California and Oregon, where it gets very hot and lots of drought. They are well acclimated to that climate, if you live on the west coast.
If I keep burr oak acorn in the fridge over the winter, how am I supposed to plant them in fall? Can I not plant them in the spring?
You can keep them in the fridge all winter and plant in the spring.
Hi, can they take full sunlight from younglings?.... Zero shade.
If they are started in full sunlight they will be fine. If you start them in the shade however, you will need to slowly introduce them to full sunlight.
How about a show on walnuts thanks
I collected 5+ I will now test
I’ve had some fail the float test and still grow. Not many, but I seem to aways have a few.
ok
At what stage in their development can you pick them, can you pick them early and let them finish off in your window like a tomato or an apple Does anybody know?
Where do you buy those pots?
Hey Keith! First, I would like to thank you watching!
This is where I ordered mine in the past. I don't remember how many I ordered, maybe 100, but have been re-using them for a few years. At some point I will have to replace them but so far they have held up pretty well.
stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/
Where can I buy white oak acorns?
Great question. I have seen them for sale on Esty and Facebook. I've never bought them, I just go to parks/shopping centers and pick them up. I also have seen many post in some of the Facebook gardening groups talking about acorns in their yards. Remember, many white oak acorns have a big crop every couple years.
What do you do with the white oaks over winter when you plant them in the fall? I am in Zone 4 if I left them even in my garage over winter they would freeze SOLID.
can you help me send some oak acorns for me to plant? There are no oak trees around me at all.
👍👍👍
Have you ever tried using a squirrel ? Hey they are pretty handy this way. Gives you time to kick back and have a beer. And them old oak trees, why they just about grow themselves
where do you find the planting containers?
Nevermind. Found earlier reply with the info I asked for. =]
stuewe.com
👍🌳
How long in fridge? Minimum time? 60 days?
Depends on the type of oak tree. 0-90 days are the most common but there are a few that take 120 days. I normally put them in until spring then I plant them. A little extra doesn’t seem to hurt them.
When is the right to transfer permanently, fall or spring.?
Either works fine. I normally plant them late winter or early spring.
how to get oak seeds for plants, I'm from Malaysia
You might be able to order them online, but I'm not sure how importing them into Malaysia would work. Thanks for watching
As someone whom planted trees, hundreds of trees. Planting them directly where you want them, works better then planting them in a container. For me. Also, the PH, and location can be quirky, so, you need to make sure the tree wants to be there. dont plant a swamp oak, on top of a mountain. Also, 40% peat? whoa. I've never seen anyone use that much peat moss. But, we also mix with local soil. So, we know our local soil's clay content, or, sand, etc.
Do you have a link for the tree pots?
I was going to ask the same thing. I still cannot find them. Let me know if you found them after all this time. Thanks
@@jeremygonzales663 so bought some little clay pots and started my seeds in there. After a few weeks I transplanted them in a bigger pot that I bought from Lowe's. I am planning to transplant them into the dirt this winter. The pots are a bit shorter but bigger around in diameter and are a few dollars a piece. So far my trees are doing fairly well the heat is a bigger problem because I live in Texas.
stuewe.com