Concordia Oaks and Swamp / Bur Hybrids

They will do well in Iowa, if you baby them.


I have 400-500 that I am in the process of babying (weed mats, mulch, tubes on 100, cages on 200, full sun, etc). Also have another 750-1000 that I care a little less about. Just about done for now. By next spring I hope to be all done with them and then limit myself to 20-30 every year after that and do more fishing. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a very nice walleye boat, side imaging, down imaging, spot lock or any other fancy crap you can put on it. I gotta get it deck out with expensive electronics so I can spend most of the time taking the kids tubing. LOL.


Babying trees is the only way to go if you ask me. Plants really respond if you care for them.
 
I have 400-500 that I am in the process of babying (weed mats, mulch, tubes on 100, cages on 200, full sun, etc). Also have another 750-1000 that I care a little less about. Just about done for now. By next spring I hope to be all done with them and then limit myself to 20-30 every year after that and do more fishing. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a very nice walleye boat, side imaging, down imaging, spot lock or any other fancy crap you can put on it. I gotta get it deck out with expensive electronics so I can spend most of the time taking the kids tubing. LOL.


Babying trees is the only way to go if you ask me. Plants really respond if you care for them.

It will pay off
 
I planted 15 SWOs from the Iowa DNR seedling sale this year (gave the rest of the 25 to my brother). They've all leafed out and are pushing out good growth in the past week here in Central NY. All are tubed or caged (mainly tubed). I also have three SWOs from Nativ Nurseries that I planted in early summer last year and they, too, have leafed out. They struggled last year but the summer planting probably stressed them. They are slower than the Iowa ones so far, but they'll recalibrate after a few NY winters.

I have two Schuette's from Nativ Nurseries that I planted in early summer last year and they struggled to establish (leaves yellowed prematurely). They have leafed out and are doing great now with new flushes of growth. Both are in tubes.

This is all in CNY hills south of Syracuse. I baby them up in my yard and water them frequently. Also have whites, reds, pins, burenglish, bur, English, and burgambels planted in terms of oaks. Several chestnuts planted out there, as well. Going for diversity and I'm hoping for acorns in several years. I'm in apple country, so I am hoping to get something different for the local herd. I've been planting since 2017 and have plenty of trees emerging from tubes already.
 
Cage as a 18 inch seedling
 
Has it always been caged or was it previously tubed?

I'm debating on how to handle the trees emerging from the tubes. Keep the tube on or take it off and cage with welded wire?

This is where I am at with my burr oaks and swamp whites. They shot out of the tree tubes in no time (under 1 year) and then have just been sitting there. I am considering just wrapping them with metal screen to protect the bases and then let them go after that. What are your guys' thoughts? Will the oaks be good to go if they are up 4-5 ft and have a protected base?
 
This is where I am at with my burr oaks and swamp whites. They shot out of the tree tubes in no time (under 1 year) and then have just been sitting there. I am considering just wrapping them with metal screen to protect the bases and then let them go after that. What are your guys' thoughts? Will the oaks be good to go if they are up 4-5 ft and have a protected base?

I would still cage them. We sometimes cut the tube back if we have a real good tree growing. Once they hit 10 feet or so, as long as you protect the trunk, they should make it.
 
I would still cage them. We sometimes cut the tube back if we have a real good tree growing. Once they hit 10 feet or so, as long as you protect the trunk, they should make it.
This is great to know. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Bur oak that was caged until age 8....producing a few acorns now.
 

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I planted these about one month ago. My bare root SWO and burr oak from MDC exploded with growth the last two weeks. Plugs from Itasca are not growing as fast as the bare roots from MDC. Trees that are inside tubes are growing much faster than the ones I put in cages.


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Scored a couple of half-off 7' SWOs with ~1-inch calipers from Home Depot today. $17.50 apiece here in CNY. Hopefully they'll give me some acorns sooner than my other trees planted as seedlings.
 
Bur oak that was caged until age 8....producing a few acorns now.
How cool is that?! I don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting acorns from a Bur Oak that soon.
 
I planted 15 SWOs from the Iowa DNR seedling sale this year (gave the rest of the 25 to my brother). They've all leafed out and are pushing out good growth in the past week here in Central NY. All are tubed or caged (mainly tubed). I also have three SWOs from Nativ Nurseries that I planted in early summer last year and they, too, have leafed out. They struggled last year but the summer planting probably stressed them. They are slower than the Iowa ones so far, but they'll recalibrate after a few NY winters.

I have two Schuette's from Nativ Nurseries that I planted in early summer last year and they struggled to establish (leaves yellowed prematurely). They have leafed out and are doing great now with new flushes of growth. Both are in tubes.

This is all in CNY hills south of Syracuse. I baby them up in my yard and water them frequently. Also have whites, reds, pins, burenglish, bur, English, and burgambels planted in terms of oaks. Several chestnuts planted out there, as well. Going for diversity and I'm hoping for acorns in several years. I'm in apple country, so I am hoping to get something different for the local herd. I've been planting since 2017 and have plenty of trees emerging from tubes already.

Everyone on here seems so far away, we are close, I am also south of Syracuse. About a half an hour south on I-81, nice to meet you neighbor!!
 
Most bur and bur-hybrid oaks I've planted in the yard and around the farmyard - no fertilizer, just regular mowing - have begun producing good crops of acorns at 6-10 years following transplant as (usually) 2 y.o. seedlings. Those outplanted, with only once yearly mowing, and little or no protection from deer...take longer.
 
^^^^Same in my experience. Had a burr actually produce at age 5 when main stem was maybe 3/4" dia. Of course now ten years later that tree is actually one of my smallest trees growth wise but has acorns pretty much every year. Acorn production has been earliest with Burrs but the overall growth is slowest. Northern red oak has taken at least a dozen years for acorn production but trees are the tallest and biggest diameter out of burrs, whites, and reds. I have a very high site index for red oak with my type of sandy loam. Seems all the oaks tend to do well there given lots of sun.
 
Everyone on here seems so far away, we are close, I am also south of Syracuse. About a half an hour south on I-81, nice to meet you neighbor!!

Yet another benefit of the forum

Different perspectives from different regions

bill
 
Most bur and bur-hybrid oaks I've planted in the yard and around the farmyard - no fertilizer, just regular mowing - have begun producing good crops of acorns at 6-10 years following transplant as (usually) 2 y.o. seedlings. Those outplanted, with only once yearly mowing, and little or no protection from deer...take longer.

Farther south and good soils combo —-could result in acorns pretty fast.
 
Did a bunch of work on the trees again this weekend. Last spring I planted some SWO from Itasca. I wasnt too impressed with those plugs. This weekend I pulled away the mulch, completely cleared any competition around them, installed a weed mat 4x4 and then replaced the mulch and put the cage back They are small, but they look really good, and I bet will take off now. Full sun, good moisture and no competition.

IMG_3500.JPGIMG_3515.JPGIMG_3516.JPG

This year I also planted some burr oak plugs from Itasca, some burr oak and SWO bare root from MDC, and a couple schuttes from Nativ. Those things are ALL going like gangbusters in tubes. I cant believe how much growth those suckers put out. 100% survival so far.

IMG_3398.JPG
 
For all the bad things you hear about tubes, oaks do real well growth wise in tubes. Restaking them as they get about 7-8 ft tall is usually in the cards though as they do get whippy with the fast growth. I use the same tubes as your pics.
 
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