"Best" oak varieties to plant

[Telemark]

People seem to like sawtooth, but reading up about them, many sources say the acorns are very bitter and not ideal for wildlife.

I have lots of red oaks already, so I would like one or two other types there for variety.

So which oaks produce tasty acorns and produce them quickest?

(Border of zones 4 and 5)

 

[ksgobbler]

You could try some hybrids. Schuette oak for example. The only reason I planted sawtooth was to bridge the gap till my natives started producing.

 

[H20fwler]

The tastiest to deer would be white oak followed by red oak. Fastest to produce would be pin oak.

 

[j-bird]

I was always told that an oak for feeding deer is a sawtooth, just because they produce early and heavily. For actual deer preference....I would think a basic white oak would be the way to go. I planted 50 ~ 100 sawtooth acorns last year (the 50 or so in plots did fine and will get tuber this spring) and am planting another ~100 SWO this spring yet. The biggest thing.....in my opinion anyway....is planting what is best suited for your planting site. I think that will be the biggest influence in getting the tree to produce sooner in my opinion. My upland, coarse, loam, well drained soil supports chinkapin, burr and Norther red oak mainly.

 

[Telemark]

You could try some hybrids. Schuette oak for example. The only reason I planted sawtooth was to bridge the gap till my natives started producing.

Never heard of Schuette oak, but thst looks like a winner.

Do you find the deer like your sawtooth acorns? I have been reading a lot of conflicting reports.

 

[Telemark]

The tastiest to deer would be white oak followed by red oak. Fastest to produce would be pin oak.

I have a kajillion red oaks, which I am thankful for. I think i am too far north for pin oaks.

I have a spot picked out for some white oaks. I hope my grandkids like hunting.

 

[Telemark]

I was always told that an oak for feeding deer is a sawtooth, just because they produce early and heavily. For actual deer preference....I would think a basic white oak would be the way to go. I planted 50 ~ 100 sawtooth acorns last year (the 50 or so in plots did fine and will get tuber this spring) and am planting another ~100 SWO this spring yet. The biggest thing.....in my opinion anyway....is planting what is best suited for your planting site. I think that will be the biggest influence in getting the tree to produce sooner in my opinion. My upland, coarse, loam, well drained soil supports chinkapin, burr and Norther red oak mainly.

I could plant bur oaks. Another one for the grandkids i guess.

 

[scott44]

I try planting a few hybrids every year along with the non hybrids, one that has done good so far is a Bur gambel oak. I planted some in 2013 and had one that had acorns on it last year.

I got the Bur gambel plugs from the U of Idaho.
https://marketplace.uidaho.edu/C202...ct_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=2612&SINGLESTORE=true

 

[j-bird]

I could plant bur oaks. Another one for the grandkids i guess.

I am not sure how quickly they will produce mast, but I know my neighbor (a timber guy) took a not so great corn/bean field and planted burr oak. That was 10 to 15 years ago and the trees have done really well, but still are not producing mast that I am aware of. However they hold their leaves well and make excellent cover in the mean-time. Again the soil here and in this area burr does really well and he planted in a plantation type situation for later timber harvest. His trees are 20 feet tall or better now and he has done nothing that I am aware of since the day they planted them.....thousands of them! Not sure if that influences your thoughts any or not, but I think it speaks more to planting to what is suitable for your site more than anything. I am not sure you are going to really find a "fast" mast producing oak that is native......native oaks just don't work that way. Most are slow growers and thus why the timber is as strong and as dense as it is and thus it's value.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Native oaks ARE slow to grow. J-bird hit it. ^^^ I never tasted a hybrid acorn, but of the native oaks, white oak acorns are the sweetest.

 

[bwoods11]

I like the hybrid (swamp bur oak) the best, bur oak and swamp white oak, have been good for me as well in MN. In Iowa, all three mentioned, but also like red oak and shingle oak down there.

 

[Telemark]

I have done a lot of reading, and it seems like timber would never be a reasonable goal with oaks up there.

Seems like the bur oak hybrids are the way to go for something that will benefit me. And maybe some dwarf chinkapin oaks if they can handle the cold.

Back to sawtooth... do the deer utilize the acorns as well as hoped? Or are they too bitter?

 

[ksgobbler]

Mine aren’t big enough. However I spoke with the forester before I planted. He said that because of the early drop they are targeted very heavily.

 

[Shedder]

People seem to like sawtooth, but reading up about them, many sources say the acorns are very bitter and not ideal for wildlife.

I have lots of red oaks already, so I would like one or two other types there for variety.

So which oaks produce tasty acorns and produce them quickest?

(Border of zones 4 and 5)

You have 3 separate locations listed and is Norway a town? What you plant will depend on that.

 

[Telemark]

You have 3 separate locations listed and is Norway a town? What you plant will depend on that.

I think I might have to make different profiles. I hunt mostly in Ohio, but I have very little control over what happens there. However, I can convince people to do certain things sometimes.

I will start to hunt primarily in the country of Norway, specifically near Bergen. The dirt there is acidic, but it's not so different in climate from Oregon and Washington.

I have pretty much full reign on 300 acres of wilderness in Ontario. It is sucky terrain with very little diversity and few animals. I am trying very hard to improve this property.

Whew! If I should make three profiles, that is fine for me. It can be confusing jumping all over.

 

[Shedder]

I think I might have to make different profiles. I hunt mostly in Ohio, but I have very little control over what happens there. However, I can convince people to do certain things sometimes.

I will start to hunt primarily in the country of Norway, specifically near Bergen. The dirt there is acidic, but it's not so different in climate from Oregon and Washington.

I have pretty much full reign on 300 acres of wilderness in Ontario. It is sucky terrain with very little diversity and few animals. I am trying very hard to improve this property.

Whew! If I should make three profiles, that is fine for me. It can be confusing jumping all over.

You don't need three profiles but more specifics would help. No one would think you are hunting whitetail in Norway Europe, for example.
Q robur is native to Norway but other oaks will grow there. I would be careful about planting non-natives there without checking on the details first. That said I have seen people in Scandinavia on the web that planted a lot of non natives.

" 300 acres of wilderness in Ontario" covers a lot of potential places. Up near Algonquin, maybe? Some places like the Bruce Pen are calcareous soils so certain oaks would do better there. Bur oak is likely the best adapted to your area since it runs pretty far north.

I am in Canada and growing oaks. Well, trying.

 

[Telemark]

I tried to be so specific in this thread.

I deleted all my locations. I don't want anyone else to get confused.

 

[Telemark]

I am in Canada and growing oaks. Well, trying.

What kinds?

 

[Shedder]

What kinds?

Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor)
White Oak (Q. alba)
Swamp Chestnut Oak (Q. michauxii)
Dwarf Chinkapin Oak (Quercus prinoides)
Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii )
Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa)
Hill's Oak (Q. ellipsoidalis)
Shumard Oak (Q. Shumardii)
English Oak (Q. robur)
Red Oak (Q. rubra)
Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea)
Overcup Oak (Q. lyrata)
Much of the seed is from Ontario.

Only red oak is native.


Castanea pumila, Allegheny chinquapin
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)

 

[Catscratch]

On preferences: I think deer are opportunistic and will eat the "best" available at the time. For example; deer gladly step over Red acorns to eat Burr or Chinkapin that are dropping at the same time. Once all the white oak acorns are gone they will gladly come back to eat the reds, but not until then. Our Sawtooths drop early and drop first. They beat our natives (DCO, Chinkapin, Burr, and Pin) every yr and get cleaned up. They drop too early to be huntable but I like them because they grow quick, hold leaves throughout winter, and are a reliable producer. So, while they aren't exactly great hunting they do have good qualities and fill certain gaps. Your gaps and needs may be different than mine. Get to know your natives and try to fill gaps with plantings. Actual sweetness and preferences become less important if plants aren't competing with the same time slots.

With that said I spend considerable time collecting and planting natives just because I know they can survive here long term. I figure anything that isn't already growing here has two possibilities once planted; be too weak and not survive long-term, or become an invasive.