Yes, you need to protect the roots from winter freezing. Planting them in the ground(pot and all if you want) would protect them enough, also keeping them in an unheated garage or cold greenhouse where the temperatures stay above freezing but don't get too warm would also work. Or you could put them in a protected spot outside and cover with lots of mulch and that too should also work.

thank you very much for the info...please leave any other advice that would be helpful to me...i will take all i can get

If you do decide to plant them (pots and all) in the ground over the winter...they may be at rabbit nibbling height. Ours don't get nibbled on during the spring/summer, but in the winter the rabbits are relegated to nibbling on my tiny tree seedlings (Hickory, Oaks etc.). Perhaps protecting them with some chicken wire could help in the winter.

since you want to learn ...

freeze is irrelevant to the oaks in z5 MI .... presuming they are not some weird zone oaks ...

the problem with pots in z5 .. is the constant freeze THAW all winter long ....

the key to ANYTHING in dormancy .. in MI .. is GET IT DORMANT.. KEEP IT DORMANT .... and if zone appropriate ... they will be just fine ...

a black pot in full sun.. in the dead of winter .. can thaw .. and if there is some extended warm spell the tree can come out of dormancy in jan or feb .. and then repeatedly re-freeze every night ... no plant will live through that abuse ...

if you sink the pot completely .. no black rim warming in the sun ... mother earth .. frozen solid in MI winter ... will keep the roots frozen ... so back to the premise.... get it dormant.. keep it dormant ...

if vermin are a problem ... an little chicken wire will help ...

good luck

ken

Another problem with oaks in pots is that they quickly grow extensive taproots. Even relatively small seedlings need very deep pots. Oak is one type of tree I strongly prefer to start in the ground where I want them to grow.

i have a pot of 5 english oaks planted 5 years ago .. sunk in the ground.. which the bunnies eat down every spring ... and they live just fine ... barely 6 inches tall... but they are fine... lol ....

just never seem to get around to taking them out and killing them ...

ken

PS: i had hopes the striped acorns would produce variegated oaks.. similar to what happens in the hosta world with striped pods .. but nope.. just green oaks ... robur ...

Come to think of it, I saw a picture of Ken's oak. I'll attach a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ken's oak tree after the rabbit finished

It's not really true that Oaks don't care about freezing roots. In fact in my experience as well as some other ardent Oak growers, we have found that Oaks tend to be one of the most sensitive about having their roots frozen, either for too long or too cold. I've had Bur Oak which died when they were left in pots outside with temps in the 20's for about 1 week, while Southern Magnolia in pots right next to them survived with no problems. It seems that if cold hardy Oaks have their roots get below about 20 or they stay frozen for more than 1 week or so that they start to have survival problems. Oaks in the ground seem to be able to endure frozen roots a lot longer. I guess it's because their roots don't get as cold as they would if they were in pots. Another example is, that I've never had an Oak of any kind survive outdoors here(in Eastern Kansas) in a pot, but I've had plenty of other trees, like Catalpa, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Red Maple, Honey Locust, and Sugarberry trees all survive outdoors in pots over the winter. This is outdoors with no mulch, and not buried in the ground.

Also, it's true Oaks tend to have very long tap roots, especially with some species and these tap roots will grow around and round in circles in pots, even deep pots. But, if you've kept the Oak otherwise healthy, it's relatively easy to unwind the tap root when you plant it, or even cut it back to a straighter part if you can't unwind(like it's become too woody) and the Oak should do fine. That's assuming you take good care for at least it's first growing season after you plant it.

Kman, when you talk about unwinding the taproot or cutting the taproot off, you are hopefully talking about very small trees. Most oaks are very large trees and don't lend themselves to be grown in pots for very long (except for bonsai specimens). Air pruning can be used to increase the amount of time an oak can be held in a pot to some degree, but if Ddiuble's goal is to grow the biggest, healthiest oak possible, the best bet is to get that seedling into the ground soon.

that's for all the info and help. post anything else that would help me out. thanks again everyone.

I planted acorns this fall too - 4-5 acorns in 15-20 three gallon pots. I believe all were white oak species. The pots now have 3-4 seedlings, most with two leaves. I'd like to plant them out ASAP but am unsure about the best way to proceed.

If I try to remove each seedling from a pot, am I likely to damage the seedlings' roots? Should I pick one and sacrifice the others? Anything else to consider?

i did the same thing and i just picked the strongest looking one in each pot, and tried not to disturb it by cutting the others and having one in each pot. thats just what i did, but you may be able use all the trees by seperating them and not damaging the roots.

brandon.. thats hilarious.. lol ...

so the 50 oaks on my lot.. really care about ground freeze to 48 inches.. hmmm..

they should all be dead..

its a potting issue..

ken

It's likely the ground temperature does not go much below about 30° or so, and it's also likely that most larger trees have at least a few roots that grow below the freeze line and that has something to do with their ability to withstand blisteringly cold air temperatures, but still somewhat sensitive to their roots getting too cold.
If you don't believe me when I say that Oaks grown in pots are much more sensitive to their root balls freezing than most other trees, do the experiment yourself. Grow some Oaks in pots and leave them in a shaded area outside with no winter protection(other than the shade) and see how many don't come back the next year. My experience with the Bur Oaks and the Southern Magnolias was a real shock to me at the time, but I've spoken with many other Oak enthusiasts who have had very similar experiences since then. Also, another experiment you can do is, put some acorns in plastic bags with some moist peat moss and stick some in your refrigerator and some in the freezer and see how many survive from the freezer. I'll predict just about 0% will, again based on years of experience with storing and growing acorns as well as other's experiences. Oaks, especially younger ones(who knows how a large Oak would respond to having it's roots sit at 0°F for a few weeks, but young ones will be dead), just don't like their roots getting frozen too deeply, i.e. either too cold or staying frozen for too long.

Brandon, Yes I'm talking mostly about young Oaks. I've done that method actually with some Oaks left in 5 gallon pots for way too long(like 5 years) and have had good success. After care is key though, they take quite a shock when the root is cut because it's too woody to unwind. But after several weeks they recover enough to put out new leaves and start growing again.

I also had this happen.A oak in a pot without mulch stands a high chance of dieing.
Somewhere I heard it explained that what happens to lets say the acorn,is freezeing to fast will cause the cells in the acorn to burst and kill it.when acorns are left outside with leaves as mulch the temps rise and fall much slower.Under those conditions the acorn will live.

lp

diuble67 - You started this thread with a request for advice and ended it by giving advice. My oak seedlings are sprouting new leaves so it may be time to thin. It's too hot to plant - temps are close to 100 degrees. Thanks! - Pam

Yeh several of my tree seedlings are putting out their second flush of foliage. 2 are Northern Red oaks and 1 is some sort of hickory (leaves smell great).