Growing Trees From Acorns?

[TJACK]

My daughter just picked some red oak acorns and is begging me to plant them.  We tried this last year by placing a few white oak acorns in mom's flower garden just under the soil and nothing came up ( squirrels may have been watching ).  It would be nice to grow a small tree to show her the importance regeneration.  

Does anyone have a method of planting acorns that will grow?  I don't care if they need started indoors.

Thanks,

TJACK

[HORSELOGGER]

Hi Tjack. For just a few red oaks , try putting a handful or so fo acorns in with some damp sand or peat moss in a yogurt container or baggie with a zip lock top and keep in the coldest spot in your refridgerator over the winter. Then , when you plant the garden next spring, put them out in a row and watch em sprout. The over wintering in the fridge is to sratify the seed ( the seed is pre programmed to be able to sprout after a certain amount of exposure to low temps) This way the squirrels cant get em over winter.  Wont work with white oak, as it is a fall sprouter.

[HORSELOGGER]

Oh yeah, dont forget to poke a few air holes in the baggie or container lid as the seeds will be giving off some moisture over winter.

[DanG]

I don't know about acorns, but I can tell you about pecans.  A couple of years ago, I trenched in a new water line, which passed under a pecan tree. The trench was about a foot deep, and was open for about a week. We did this in November, just when the nuts were falling.  Next Spring, I had about 2 dozen pecan seedlings almost a foot high, by the time I started mowing.  If I had tried to grow them, I would have planted a couple of inches deep, at the most. I probably would have failed.
I'd follow Horselogger's advice about the fridge, then experiment with different depths and conditions in the spring. If you have enough acorns, plant some in the late fall, and some more in the spring. It never hurts to learn by doing, and it will be a good adventure for your daughter.

[TJACK]

Thanks for the advice.  I will try the refrigerator. and also plant some now (she can plant, I will watch for the squirrels).  I will report in the spring with I hope success.

Thanks again,

TJACK

[Corley5]

A fella Dad worked with carried acorns in his pockets while deer hunting in his favorite spot.  Every now and then he drop one and push it into the the ground with his boot heel.  He'd been doing this for many years and had oaks up to 20' tall that he'd planted when he passed away.

[RMay]

We do school progams for all third grades in the county we put the acorns in water of they float they are not good . We use 1/2 pint milk carton with potting soil .We have then set the cartons in a window . They all come up .

[lylera]

 We have a lot more red oak than we do white in this area. Somebody told me once that the squirrels buried the red, but ate the white acorns, as they knew they wouldn't keep through the winter. I planted red oak as you did, in the garden, and most made it. Only planted about an inch deep.  lyle

[Don P]

I know the whites taste better...or the reds taste very bitter, they would be my second choice for a meal.

[bitternut]

TJACK

What works pretty good for me is searching under oaks in the spring that had bore a pretty fair crop of acorns the previous fall. In my neck of the woods  thats usually the first part of spring turkey season. I look for acorns that are large and have a small tip sprout just coming out. I think that is the tap root but I am not sure. I take these acorns home and put them in plastic pots with a soil compost mix that I make up. I lay them on top ( one to a pot ) and cover the acorn with about 1 or 2 inches of mulch. I place the pots in an area that gets only about 50% sun and keep them well watered all summer. I have just about 100% survival. My biggest problem is that rabbits like to nip them off about 1 inch from the ground. I have only been doing this with red oaks as my few white oaks never seem to have any acorns, even in the fall. I took a picture of some from last springs potting.

[Tom]

You've got quite a green thumb, bitternut.

[TJACK]

Thanks, I will try everyones advice as it sounds like a good learning experience for my daughter and I.  Maybe a show and tell item in the fall next year.

TJACK

[Saki]

Howdy. All good ideas and great comments up above. I believe that our nurseries here in Indiana still do the float type pass/fail test. A nut or acorn that floats indicates that the seed is not filled with the embryo of the new plant and does not have the reserves needed to allow it to sprout and survive until it can get established. A nut or acorn that sinks indicates that it probably does have the necessary stuff. It sure is great to see folks who have a strong family interest in such things. Best of luck with all your projects - Saki

[Tom]

TJack

Here is a link to a fellow that grows oaks from acorns in Indiana.
http://www.bartelart.com/acorn.htm