Growing Bur oak acorns to seedlings?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Hey folks,

I have three Bur oak acors that I want to try growing. I collected them a few days ago from a tree. Acorns are starting to drop around here so I figured they were fine to pick. I left them outside for a couple fo days (it was cool and rainy) away from sun and rain (under an awning on my front porch). I then brought them in and removed the tops (came off fairly easy). I placed them in water overnight (they immediately sank to the bottom of the container and I've read this is a good way to test their viability.

Now, I live in a cooler climate (Southerm Ontario) and it's already in the upper 40s here at night. Bur oaks grow well here. Should I put these three acorns into containers now with some soil from my garden? Should they be in seperate containers? And where should I place these containers? East facing? Direct sun area? Shaded area? What happens if we get some hard frosts soon? I doubt that they will sprout now that it has gotten cooler (although our days can still hit low 70s occassianally). What do I do with the pots when it gets really cold and things freeze over (Dec? Is this a matter of keeping the containers moist and waiting until next spring for seedlings? Should I bring the containers indoors and place in a cold room in the basement (goes down to low 30s)

Thanks!

Featured Answer

splaker
Original Author

3 years ago

Update on the acorns/seedlings - all three acorns collected made it to become seedlings but one was eaten by a critter in the pot it was in. I still have the other two growing well in 2 gallon pots. I am thinking of planting them soon or perhaps plant in the spring. Am I going to have higher success with a fall or spring planting? If waiting til spring can i store them in a cold room that goes down to about 34F through the winter?

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Comments (6)

bengz6westmd
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I just put them in the ground an inch or so right now where you want them. Prb'ly best to remove the husks, but I didn't. I planted the below just as an afterthought in a dirt-pile, but did then transplant some out to better spots. Burr oak seedlngs a year after planting:
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
why did you only get 3??? .. if you have gotten a few more.. you could have tried various methods ...

the problem with the ground is vermin ... no need to feed them ...

i would probably put them in a pot ... and wait until spring for them to sprout ... and protect the pot for winter ... from both too much water when frozen .. and from vermin ... you can just lay it on its side in january.. out of sun that might heat the black pot...

one thing for sure.. i used to have plenty of pots that dam squirrels put them in. and they sprouted.. so how hard could it be for me to do the same thing.. lol ... dont overthink it all ...

ken
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L Clark (zone 4 WY)
3 years ago
Nice. I love griwing from seed. I’ve got butternut and ohio buckeye from seed
BillMN-z4a
3 years ago
Yeah, great job!

I've grown oaks from acorns before but never planted the seedlings in the ground in the Fall.

It is a good time to plant them now because trees do a lot of root elongation in the Fall before the ground gets too cold.

The only thing is you'll have to have some protection from varmints like mice chewing them off during winter, like a hardware cloth cage/surround of some sort.

If you want to keep them in the pots for the winter, they'll need to stay cold enough to keep them from coming out of dormancy and growing too early, before winter is over, yet not get so cold to freeze the roots.

So, if you don't have a cold frame to keep them in, you'd have to sink the pots in the ground anyways, just to keep the roots happy and then still have to protect from varmints. And if I had to do all that, I'd just plant them in the ground now and be done with it.

That way your seedlings will go into dormancy naturally when the outside temps go down and sun strength diminishes and then be ready to grow when things warm up in the spring.

Besides, the longer you keep them in pots, the more chance there is for the aggressive tap root that oaks produce to start winding around inside the pots. You'll then have to deal with that upon planting in the spring.
BillMN-z4a
3 years ago
Oh, and the room you mentioned would be fine if it only goes done to 34dF. The problem would be if it gets warmer than, say, mid to high 40's during the winter.