Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
I have had a bunch of Burr oak acorns in the fridge with damp paper towels since fall. How long does it normally take Burr acorns to begin germination at room temperature?
Germinating Burr oak acorns
- Thread starter Turkey Creek
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JackTerp
5 year old buck +
I peel off the shell and bury them about an inch in rootmaker 1gal. pats. They are slow to germinate. Don't give up on them if they seem like they are taking forever. Once they start though, they grow quite rapidly. they will put down a large root first. If you can, as soon as the tap root breaks through the bottom, move to a larger pot or plant out. they really seem to need root room.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
Do you mean the acorn cap? I took the caps off this fall. Just pulled a few out of the fridge a few days ago and put them in a Ziplok bag on the counter in the shop to get a feel for how long till germination. Dont really want to bother potting or planting acorns that arent viable. I did float test them all last fall.
j-bird
Moderator
Not questioning your methods, but why did you put them in the fridge? Burr are white oak and as such don't need to be stratified. I plant all my whites as soon as I can in the fall. Then let them overwinter an then plant the seedlings asap in the spring before they leaf out.
Like I said not questioning your method just trying to learn something.
Like I said not questioning your method just trying to learn something.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
No problem. Just for storage purposes. I did plant a few, but didnt have locations and time to plant all of them last fall. Some of them I may grow in pots as well and I didn't want to baby them all winter.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
Interesting I might give that a try next year if I decide to grow some more.
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
The first year I tried growing burr oaks I got impatient when they weren't putting out a radical. I cut one of them open and found the radical curled around inside the shell. So, I began taking the entire shell off of them and have done so every year since. I simply use an exacto knife to score through them and peel the entire shell off.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
I wonder if the natural freeze- thaw cycle cracks the shell when left to mother nature.
scott44
5 year old buck +
So do you plant them after you have taken the shell off Jack? I too have some Burs that the reticles aren't showing and I wanted to get them started. Thx
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
If you are going to just plant them out, they can handle it if you protect them from everything that wants to eat them. That can be hard but I do it every year with just a couple. If you want to start them in pots, I suggest Rootmaker 1 gallon pots. I like to try to grow them at least until the fall and plant them when they go dormant. When you put them outside for the first time be sure to cut off anything left of the acorn or the local squirrels will dig them up and kill the tree. I know some of the guys like to keep them till the second year but I don't have the money for 5 gallon roottrapper bags.
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
Starting them in 18 cells is fine but..... They will need to be moved to something larger as soon as the tap root reaches the bottom and air prunes. Burr oaks, really any white oak I've tried, needs lots of room for side roots. I can't keep them alive in 18 cells long. I finally just started using 1 gallon round pots to start with.
Lee Haakenson
5 year old buck +
Has anyone had success growing bur oak acorns with the shells on? I have a 5 gallon pail of them and shelling them all would take me days.
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For acorns that have been in a fridge you definitely do NOT need to remove the shells; however, you may decide to do so if it will increase your confidence they will germinate. Moisture and heat are the 2 variables most affecting germination. If you want to expedite germination, try this simple method. Get a Folger (or other type coffee) plastic container with lid. Wrap your acorns/chestnuts or other seeds in a wet paper towel (squeeze all the water out) and place the container containing nuts in a warm garage (summer), in an early morning sun (2-3 hours if temps below 70) or in front of heat register (if temps 40 or less outside). check daily to ensure seeds don't dry out (keep towel moist) and you should see radicals within a few days. Good luck, it works great for me. :-)
These 2 direct seeded Bur Oaks are less than 5 yrs and were acorns (in shell w no cap) .... the second photo shows the nice 18-20 in flush they pushed this summer.
Each of these trees are over 8 feet tall; the tree in the 2nd photo has a much smaller cage (dia.) .... you can see how they browsed it up to about 5'
These 2 direct seeded Bur Oaks are less than 5 yrs and were acorns (in shell w no cap) .... the second photo shows the nice 18-20 in flush they pushed this summer.
Each of these trees are over 8 feet tall; the tree in the 2nd photo has a much smaller cage (dia.) .... you can see how they browsed it up to about 5'
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