Use a controlled release fertilizer...I find it works very well without having to worry about application frequency of water soluble fertilizers.

Oaks are not particularly slow growing...I have two chinquapin oaks that (with fertilizer) put on 4' of growth this past summer.

Keep in mind that trees that grow too fast can suffer problems. Quick growth sometimes leads to a weaker structure and can even attract some pests. I think it's fine to ensure that fertility levels are good and that the trees don't suffer during drought, but over-babying can be detrimental.

what i said at the link ...

you can not change the genetic growth rates of plants... in your favor ...

if a live oak SEXUALLY MATURES .. in say.. 15 years ... no amount of fert.. is going to change that ... IMHO ...

ken

ps: if you think about it.. most hyper fertd plants.. are annual production plants .. not century old trees ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

"if a live oak SEXUALLY MATURES .. in say.. 15 years ... no amount of fert.. is going to change that"

That's not right. Soil fertility affects growth rate, and growth rate is one key factor in determining when a plant will sexually mature (produce fruit/nuts).

Happy New Year all.

Querorz, I wish a fast yet healthy growth rate for your trees.

Thanks to a squirrel, we have an oak tree randomly growing in our backyard. It seems to be growing fast from my perspective anyway. It's in a very awkward, unreachable spot between two fences and concrete so I can't really dig it out and I'm very hesitant to use chemicals since it's close to a vegetable garden. Right now I'm only able to hack off its limbs poking through the top of the fence. I may be wrong but this seems to be strengthening it. One day I'm going to have to find a better solution. I don't want to imagine what the roots are doing under there so close to the house.

On a side note, if a tree were "accidentally fertilized one season" while only three or four feet tall or so, could it recover? I know each tree has different needs but I'm wondering if trees generally recover without permanent weakness or other problems.

This post was edited by rubyhum on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 19:44

Rubyhum, if your goal is to kill the misplaced oak, glyphosate (the main ingredient in most RoundUp products) should do the job and be completely safe for your garden. If you want to be extra safe, be sure that glyphosate is the only active ingredient (the fast killing RoundUp, for instance, also contains other herbicides).

As for "accidentally fertilized", we'd have to know more about what you meant. One application of a reasonable amount of fertilizer is pretty unlikely to cause any long-term damage.

smivies , brandon7 , ken_adrian and rubyhum , thanks to you all.
I know there are some downsides of fast growth rates but these are not my concerns, to be honest. I can sacrifice a couple trees for having a couple large trees. Weak structure isn't a problem for us , since we don't have strong winds here in Turkey.

So guys. Maybe first of all we should discuss the kinds of fertilizers and the growth rate they provide. Homemade ones? Liquid ones? Granule ones?

I know liquid fertilizers will kick in faster but last for a shorter period and should be applied again and again. But since i will have just a couple of tree seedlings this is not a problem. I have plenty of free time lately. I am ready to do whatever it takes for super fast growing seedlings.

And i am ready to hear some advice on some specific products(Since i am in Turkey i will try to find equivalent ones that you will recommend. So i need some specific info on the ingredients of the recommended product more than the brand name).

Starting them from seed puts you at least one year ahead of transplanting from a pot, maybe 2 years. And of course you don't want to fertilize much as mentioned above, you'll get lots of growth that bugs may damage. I think the direct sowing will make the most difference if you've got good soil otherwise, I've noticed it in my Burr oak, and you need not water it unless there is a severe drought, that is most important to me anyways, I would need to connect several hoses to reach some of my trees, and the water bill would be tremendous for several trees, even the "Babies".. I know the taproot dimishes in importance after some time, but, helps the tree when young, which is pretty darn important, really. Poaky1

Thanks Poaky. What do you mean with "starting from seed puts you ahead" ? Isn't it waste of time? I have to wait a couple years to have a little seedling.

If you are starting from seed anyway, as you wrote, if you start it in a pot you will have to trim the roots before you plant the tree in the ground, unless you have the right pots to airprune the seedlings, and if you do have the airpruning pots the tree will have to grow more roots in the ground to catch up to the one that was already started in the ground in the first place. It may put the tree back one year or 2, not too much but, you will need to water in a drought unless you let the acorn grow where the tree will stay, since the acorn will put down a taproot, and that seedling will not need babied in a drought. I think it is a time saver, you press the acorn in the soil on it's side barely covered or not quite soil covered, but enough that it won't blow away, and walk away, you'll likely need something to protect the acorns from animals, I use wire baskets from the dollar store. So Pushing an acorn into the damp soil, cover with a wire basket or something like it, and walk away VS digging a hole getting the depth right, covering the roots and watering, mulching and still protecting from critters and watering the first year or 2 when it doesn't rain for a few days to a week, and the tree will have to replace roots lost in transplanting to catch up to that acorn pressed into the soil. That's my best explanation. Poaky1

Thanks Poaky. I got what you mean this time.