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planting burr oak acorns

Started by wannabeonetoo, September 05, 2008, 08:21:29 PM

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wannabeonetoo

Just a quick question about planting burr oak acorns.
I've just gathered a bunch of acorns ,I haven't checked them for viability yet (the old "float method" has worked in the past very well for me).They were collected off of the ground ,however they are still quite green . Do they have to be brown in colour  ? I assume the brown colour is just the shell drying out ?? The deer and squirrels have been eating them a lot too.
So should they be ok to plant in this green condition ????
  Thanks
     Steve

SwampDonkey

Quote from: wannabeonetoo on September 05, 2008, 08:21:29 PM
So should they be ok to plant in this green condition ????
  Thanks
     Steve


I would think so. In another week I'm going to pick some off a pair of trees I've been watching. I only got two last year, seeded them. One germinated and later died, it was a runt.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

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sawmilllawyer

OK, so how do you exactly conduct the old float method? If it floats is it good/bad? Thanks, Andy.
Stihl MS-361, MS-460 mag, Poulan 2150, 2375 Wildthing.

wannabeonetoo

This works for walnut,hickory,butternut,oak, any nut I suppose.
What I do is remove caps and/or husks , fill a pail with water toss in nuts,sinkers should be good,floaters are no good.
Simple eh?? ;D Not 100% guaranteed but weeds out the duds for sure.

     Steve

beenthere

Yep, as wannabe says....an empty nut floats.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

woodtroll

With acorns in the white oak group I would plant as soon as you get them. They germinate vary fast. Unlike red oaks.
After floating, take your duds and put them somewhere where you can see how many still germinate. Not all floaters fail.

wannabeonetoo

In the past when planting walnut and oak , I planted in the fall and saw no sprouting until the next spring.I assumed they had to stratify (go through a winter freeze/thaw cycle)before they germinated.I think sugar maple is the same ? Is this how it works or do they sprout and remain just below the surface out of sight ??
Still learnin'...(I hope)  :P
Thanks
    Steve

woodtroll

White oaks can be germinating when the fall from the tree. The sprout will look like a worm coming out of the shell. Most others need some form of stratifying.
I have had good success with leaf mulch over the white oaks to keep them sheltered, but not so much they don't come through in the spring.

tyb525

Last year I happened to pick up 4 white oak acorns, and put them in a plant pot and forgot about them, didn't water or anything. This spring I saw that there were 3 white oaks growing from it! I transplanted them into separate containers (big), but only one made it, but it's doing well.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Jason74

I was wondering about this same subject,I picked several dozen bur oak acorns a few weeks ago off of several trees in a park.Some of them came loose easily from cup and still had a small amount of green,others were not quite ready yet,still ripening...Is just my opinion that the ones that are almost all green have a softer shell and would be more prone to rot,or be invaded by pest after planting.It seems to me that the ones that are mostly brown and ripened have a harder shell.Maybe less prone to failure than the green ones,but I'm not saying the green ones won't work,I planted around 50 bur oak acorns on my land,some were still a little green,will check them in a few weeks for rotting,but they may be fine.Not a lot of information on this subject,most just say collect them when they start to fall or come loose easily from cap.Problem that I've found is if you wait until they start to fall then you get more rejects from weevil damage etc..I pick mine when they are still a tiny bit green at the bottom,but some will be fully brown too.

Klunker

In the north where they will not germinate till next spring I gather mine off the ground after they fall.
Toss them into a pan with sides, leave them for about 2 weeks in a semi heated place around 50 degrees.
The weevils will chew their way out of the nuts and be crawling around in the pan.
I then look over the nuts, any with a weevil hole I toss the rest get planted.
Been pretty successful for me, I'd guess I get over 80% germination in the spring.

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