Bur Oak Plugs - what to expect year 1

almanac12

5 year old buck +
I planted some 2" - 4" bur oak plugs this spring. The ground is wetter. I put them there because the pH is marginal for SWO and there's bur oak doing well on an adjacent site with similar soils. However, they really didn't do much. We had heavy rain (an all time record from January - July), so the site was wetter than usual this year. Many really didn't do much, maybe 5 - 6", a couple are up to about 10".

Just wondering what to expect in a "normal year". I have heard that there is a possibility that they'll take off after a year, but I don't have great expectations if the wetter site conditions persist.
 
Can't speak to the plug part of the equation for oaks since have only planted plugs with pines. Between the northern reds, whites, and burrs planted bareroot, the burrs are the slowest growers by far. Like less then half in height and truck diameter. But many burrs have started with acorns in less then ten years, the reds none, and the whites at less then 10%. Go figure. One stunted burr has had acorns every year since year six when it had a trunk less then 1" dia. Has not grown a whole lot in the last 5 yrs since then either.
 
Bur oaks are extremely slow growing. 5-10" is pretty good in my experience. I've never planted plugs, but I've planted some from seed and that's about normal. I have a decent number of fairly young bur oaks on my land (likely under 30 years old) and annual growth under a foot is pretty normal.
 
Bur oak grow slow at first, sometimes they take off later. I would consider tube or cage.
 
They're in tubes. Tried Miracle Tubes and Combitubes. Noticed no difference, but it's only year 1.
 
Burs are kind of slow. I bought some bur gambels this last year and for a slow grower they did ok. Most started around 10" and most are 3-4ft in the tubes. They did get supplemental water weekly during the dry times...blahhh. A rootmaker grown bur should really explode though. I had some that were 2 months old under lights and 2ft tall. I tubed them and they are now 6ft tall. The first year they will keep up with my sawtooth, after that the saws keep growing and the burs form heavy trunks.
 
Resurrecting this just to show what might be expected. These are bur oak bare root seedlings planted in 2011. Some in tubes are 10-12’ tall with 95 % survival. Those not in tubes are no taller than 20 inches.D20815A3-265F-4258-9C33-583224DDFFE4.jpeg20FF67D3-2116-46ED-A29D-073AC8727044.jpeg06FD139B-88C5-41A6-BBBE-BE16225C6232.jpeg
 
I tubed my Burrs. Tallest is 4 ft and shortest is 2.5’. Planted in 2014
 
I wonder about your competition. I used a lot of roundup and simazine and mowed/weed-eated the first several years. The first year, the oaks were peaking out the top of a 5' tube. The forester told me it is pretty important to keep the grass killed back. The weeds don't create a thick sod like grass, just look a lot worse.
 
I’ve got swamp whites and shumards in the same area that grew 4 ft this year so hard telling. One of the SWO has flood water over it for a month and it had been in the ground 2 weeks when it flooded.
 
Kind of hard to figure what is going to grow well and where. I had shumards planted near the Bur oaks and they aren't half the size or survival rate. This is not a flooding area and was good crop ground. I also planted sawtooths in 5 different places. The only ones that did well are those that are close to a creek that floods several times a year.
 
My sawtooths have been the most disappointing.
 
I had great aspirations for my sawtooths...thought they would be dropping acorns all over the place by now....not a one.
 
Gobbler - re-thinking your bur's. My burs were fairly tall but very spindly the first several years. They really took off the last couple of years. The old forester saying "sleep...creep....and leap" seems to be true. Protect them and I bet they do well.
 
Just down there and a 2nd Bur is out of the tube. Hoping to plant some more in the next year.
 
Resurrecting this just to show what might be expected. These are bur oak bare root seedlings planted in 2011. Some in tubes are 10-12’ tall with 95 % survival. Those not in tubes are no taller than 20 inches.

The not in tubes look like they could have been browsed hard repeatedly?
 
I planted at least 6 Bur Oak 6" tall in tubes last fall/winter and kept 6 and over wintered them heeled in in pots. The pots have really taken off with 8-12" growth so far this season. The tubed BO are struggling,but are all leafed out and I had done weed control with gly and prodiamine at the time I planted to reduce competition. I think Next year I'm going to grow them for 2 years in pots before I plant them. I found some BO that are at least 30" DBH maybe bigger, Im going to have to measure them. They are giant for central oklahoma. I will be collecting from them this fall hopefully.
 
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