Successfully Germinating Bur oak and Red oak.

[SwampDonkey]

Well as you can see I had to change this post. Based on close investigation I have discovered the germinates are two oak species.


I collected the bur oak in late September from a source in Carleton county. The red oak came from Victoria county about the same time. I stored the seeds in a container in the fridge for 4 months. A couple of times I had to use a solution of bleach to remove fungus and the final time I used some lime sulfur to control it and washed it off, then dried the seeds each time. The bleach didn't seem to kill the fungus. I think it's good to use fungicide in case some fungus is on them. I would do this with butternut or walnut to in case some cankerous fungus tags along. I also have some walnut and Canada plum potted as well, awaiting germination.



This is my first bur oak Q. macrocarpa



A red oak Q. rubra. Toothpick for scale.

I think they emerged over night because I saw nothing during the day.

I have been keeping lights on them from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

Patiently awaiting my other trees.

[SwampDonkey]

Here are the oak after one week. The smaller oak on the left is bur oak. It's slower growing.




I think my walnut and plum will have to undergo more stratification. Hopefully they will germinate next spring.  I recently read that they both require about 18 months stratification.

[Mooseherder]

Man that took off in a weeks time eh?
Looks like a great project.

[SwampDonkey]

I'm not sure if the little bur oak is going to make it, but it's still green. Seems to have stagnated. It seems bur oak can be difficult and slow. I'm putting the light to them, that really helps. Just like fertilizer. Wait until next week's photo.

[SwampDonkey]

Well the little bur oak never made it folks, it was a dud. Sad. 

But the red oak are as vigorous as ever. This is after 4 weeks from germination.





One of them is having a second growth spurt, a lamas growth, while the other two are setting buds to do the same. You can see the orangie tip of the new leaves emerging. The color of the leaves during early leaf emergence usually gives an indication of flower color. Remember than when selecting roses in the spring for the garden. Remember, lamas growth will also produce a ring of early wood, but it produces a false ring.  The new early wood pores added on since the previous late wood do not start abruptly between one another. Then additional late wood gets laid down since width of early wood is the same no matter if it comes from lamas growth or normal annual increment.



This is a normal ring pattern with true annual rings. With false rings, that abrupt 'red' line does not exist and in fact the late wood leading into the new false ring will begin to have pores of increasing size again. Remember, every bud break will produce those large early wood pores. 

The original micrograph was 5x magnification. I generally use a 10x hand lens to view end grain.

[Tom]

You would have to really go on a treasure hunting program to find those first rings.  They will be buried at, or below, ground level by the time a saw takes that log off.   It would be fun to find the first ones and hang them on the wall, wouldn't it?

[SwampDonkey]

Well we can remedy that Tom, get your garden clippers out. 

[WDH]

Those red oaks look happy .

[SwampDonkey]

Five weeks in. 

[SwampDonkey]

Well, I'll bump this thread up to watch and see if the one bur oak I have this year makes it. I also looked at my plum seed and walnut seed. The plum looks like it's still alive and the walnut I cracked open is a little withered, but was tasty. The plum tasted just like an almond and in good shape. We'll see. 

[Mooseherder]

When are they going outside?

[SwampDonkey]

This spring. The oaks pictured are out there now. Under ice and snow.

[Banjo picker]

I have a small white oak in the kithen in a pot.  It came up last fall, when I brought a few acorns in that I had found late and wraped up in a paper towel ,  meaning to plant in a day or two.  But this one put its tap root through the paper towel and has graced the counter all winter.  I am going to plant it in view of the back porch, put a wire basket around it,  tell the boys if they shoot it they will be cut out of the will , and hopefully watch it grow.   Tim

[SwampDonkey]

 


Bur oak is the only native white oak species to New Brunswick. Only place in the Maritimes it grows, hundreds of miles from it's continuous range. Textbook of dendrology doesn't even show it on the map here, but shows a small area in south central Maine, which is about the same size area as in NB. Shows up in Native Trees of Canada, but the native range is a little bigger than mapped. Land clearing has about done it in here.

[Banjo picker]

Burr oak is the only native white oak species to New Brunswick. Only place in the Maritimes it grows.

Burr and overcup are a might hard to come by here in NE Miss, at least in my limited area.  When i get some acorns i will try to get them a niche.  Tim

[Jeff]

I've got some Bur Oak coming from the Chippewa County soil consevation tree sale to try on my property. I bought a lowland mix that includes 4 each of the Bur Oak, Black elderberry and High bush cranberry

[Banjo picker]

I've got some Bur Oak coming from the Chippewa County soil consevation tree sale to try on my property. I bought a lowland mix that includes 4 each of the Bur Oak, Black elderberry and High bush cranberry

Do you think they would ship to Miss.? Tim

[SwampDonkey]

The largest concentration of bur in NB is in the Grand Lake area, which is a large lake and wetland area that feeds the lower reaches of the Saint John River. My source is from a woodlot that has changed hands about 4 times in ten years. We almost bought it once, but they had too big a price. That's probably why people don't seem to hang on to it too long. The taxes would be almost nothing for it.

[SwampDonkey]

Well, the bur oak from last fall never germinated. The Canada Plum never did anything either.

The potting soil is now growing raspberry cuttings. 

Try again next year. 

[nb_foresttech]

SwampDonkey it looks like you are doing a great job at experimenting with some of our local rare species. I have been thinking of trying to grow a few trees and plants from seed. Burr oak, Butternut, Sugar maple and possibly even Black raspberry. I have seen a few Burr oak in my travels now I will have try to remember where they were. I might be contacting you if I collect the right seed for advice.