MTM Acorn to Oak Tree thread,

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Exploring noob territory for me...seeds.
I've had these Quercus suber acorns sitting around, & this contest sparked my interest. I probably should of waited till the spring, but I soaked 12 of the 36 I have this fall.



Soaked for 48hrs and all but a few sank. I planted all 12 despite the few floaters. Shameless pic of MI Cherry Jam.



Regular old potting soil with perlite mixed in. Planted in an assortment of pots I could find.



The seeds are now sitting in a tray in the basement. I may grab some local acorns this spring since I signed up for a bunch of out of season headaches.

I'm also going to be happy if any of these 12 take off.

Feel free to give advice, & personal experience I can use all the help I can get.

 

[czaczaja]

Why wait til spring? Lots of people potted them weeks ago and some already popped the stems above ground. Good to give them a head start especially if you have a place to keep them warm and exposed to light. I wasn't expecting much from mine since I never worked with acorns before. Just popped them into moist soil and to my amazement most if not all already sent out the tap root.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

The seeds are now sitting in a tray in the basement. I may grab some local acorns this spring since I signed up for a bunch of out of season headaches.

I'm also going to be happy if any of these 12 take off.

Feel free to give advice, & personal experience I can use all the help I can get.

None of the twelve Quercus suber acorns I planted last November sprouted , so I'm currently soaking another 12 Quercus suber acorns to give those another try. I also ordered & received 21 Northern Red Oak acorns Quercus Rubra. Which I planted today; I planted 9 of them in my backyard and the rest in pots. I forgot to take pictures of the ones I put in the backyard, I did put them in full sun locations.



Nine went into potting soil with some vermiculite mixed in.



I ran out of small training pots so the last 3 acorns went in bonsai soil. I'll thin those out if needed.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Finally Quercus Rubra showing some signs of life.

This one is in the ground.



Two out of three in bonsai soil coming up.


And the potting soil Red oaks are 3 for 9.


I may put a few of the pot grown ones in the ground after they're more established. Just need to find a few good spots.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

None of the Quercus suber seeds I tried sprouted, so all I have is Quercus Rubra for the contest/learning experience. Five in the ground and six in pots. One of them got a haircut today, not sure if it was a rabbit or a squirrel, but the pots are off the ground now and on benches. First time that's ever happened to me. Also got me rethinking putting them in the ground this year.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Here's my update.

Only one left in the ground, critters got the rest this Spring & I'm surprised this one didn't get chewed into a nub. It's 14 inches tall and the trunk is skinnier than the ones in the pots.


The three in bonsai soil made it, I'll have to separate these next spring. The below ones are all in pots, & around 8 inches tall.


Wire scars are healing. Another trunk sprouted in June... Is that a thing? Or is just a sucker? 99.9% sure there wasn't another acorn in there.


I have seven survivors, and some big ass leaves.



I recently learned that "Oak wilt is an exotic disease causing increased levels of mortality in Michigan." So, I got that going for me.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Well, the rabbits got a couple of the ones in pots and the ground ones. Looking for the oaks in the yard and I see nothing left.

These three are whittled down to stubs, one has buds on it nothing yet on the other two.



Not eaten by rabbits.





This is the one the sprouted a second trunk last June.



And this one got eaten/trunk chopped, and also started a second trunk. I need to look this up as IDK if this is common or if they're just suckers.
Just read a bit about it and apparently, it's common when there's damage or stress. So, the wiring caused it?

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Went back and looked & found one planted inground still alive.