Concordia Oaks and Swamp / Bur Hybrids
- Thread starter almanac12
- Start date
woodduck
5 year old buck +
I have Shingle Oaks on my place. They seem invasive in open areas but few seem to make it back in the woods. I have grown to love them. There a pretty tree, especially in winter. They hold there leaves until spring and are a great tree to put stands in.
BuckSutherland
5 year old buck +
There are LOTS of young red oaks on my property from 5-30 feet tall. At least a couple hundred on 40 acres. I have released quite a few in select areas where I want the deer to travel or bed. Most of them are on the small side and hidden among the regeneration. There are very few mature ones. The ones that are mature are sickly and dying with rotten trunks. Most of them were removed in 2010 as part of a select cut before the previous owner lost it in foreclosure. I have a really big one twisted up in a basswood cluster that drops lots of acorns. They sure browsed the hell out of the young stump sprouts and regeneration. I want to slowly release more of them over time as I need more browse. Hope the young ones have some resistance to whatever is killing the older ones. Usually see plenty of acorns left around them in the spring.
While I've been concentrating on low-tannin white oak species, particularly bur and bur-hybrid selections, for the last 25 years, I've recently branched out a little into the red/black group... been grafting some Nuttall oaks, like the 'Macon' (MS) and 'New Madrid'(MO) selections, onto Q.falcata seedlings around the edges of the farm.
Was sent a photo of the 'Macon' tree, by a friend in AR... it was still holding a lot of acorns on March 14, after dropping them all winter long. Squirrels, jays, and woodpeckers won't let them hang that long in my young trees here, though.
Was sent a photo of the 'Macon' tree, by a friend in AR... it was still holding a lot of acorns on March 14, after dropping them all winter long. Squirrels, jays, and woodpeckers won't let them hang that long in my young trees here, though.
BuckSutherland
5 year old buck +
These trees were planted about 60 days ago and had a maximum height of 10-12". They REALLY need some water. We aren't far from going into D2 severe drought. I dug a few holes to bury some fish guts and the top 12" was powder dry. Would love to see them with some rain. We are missing every rain the last 2 weeks. Tubed trees spanking caged trees for height. This is my first year installing weed mats and maintaining them. NEVER again will I plant a tree without one. Absolutely mandatory from what I can see.
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TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
My personal observation suggests that oaks respond differently to tubes than fruit trees.
Paul Knox did not recommend tubes for fruit trees because he felt they predisposed them to fungus/rot/and other bark issues
i have some baby bur oaks that have done well in tubes similar to as described in Buck's post
bill
Paul Knox did not recommend tubes for fruit trees because he felt they predisposed them to fungus/rot/and other bark issues
i have some baby bur oaks that have done well in tubes similar to as described in Buck's post
bill
BuckSutherland
5 year old buck +
I am thinking of planting 5-10 burr oak gamble next year. Might get them from Idaho along with 5 hemlock trees and 5 douglass fir to try. Also want to do some frasier and a couple other firs so that someday I can cut my own Christmas trees and have Christmas up north. Trying to limit myself to about 30-35 trees in total next year that I give the full care treatment so I can be done planting in one day. Need to catch up with the chainsaw and eliminate more garbage trees if I want to plant much more. Not sure I can believe they only get 40 feet tall and 80 feet wide. 
scott44
5 year old buck +
In the spring of 2013 I planted some Bur- Gambels from U of Idaho and 3 of them that are planted in a little lower area have really done well, in 2017 they were 8-9' and Ihad my first acorns from a tree I planted. I've planted quite a few from them and most are only 7-8' now but these 3 really took off.I am thinking of planting 5-10 burr oak gamble next year. Might get them from Idaho along with 5 hemlock trees and 5 douglass fir to try. Also want to do some frasier and a couple other firs so that someday I can cut my own Christmas trees and have Christmas up north. Trying to limit myself to about 30-35 trees in total next year that I give the full care treatment so I can be done planting in one day. Need to catch up with the chainsaw and eliminate more garbage trees if I want to plant much more. Not sure I can believe they only get 40 feet tall and 80 feet wide.
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bwoods11
5 year old buck +
I am thinking of planting 5-10 burr oak gamble next year. Might get them from Idaho along with 5 hemlock trees and 5 douglass fir to try. Also want to do some frasier and a couple other firs so that someday I can cut my own Christmas trees and have Christmas up north. Trying to limit myself to about 30-35 trees in total next year that I give the full care treatment so I can be done planting in one day. Need to catch up with the chainsaw and eliminate more garbage trees if I want to plant much more. Not sure I can believe they only get 40 feet tall and 80 feet wide.
View attachment 30599
I have tried BG Oak in MN, with limited success. Might be great in Iowa.
tullybonnie11
Yearling... With promise
I fall-planted some bare-root seedling burgambels from Twisted Tree Farm here in NY in the fall of 2018. They didn't do much last year, but most are putting up good top growth now, approaching 2' after being planted around 10". Hopefully they'll take off next year in their leap year.
Most of my oaks are putting up good growth, despite our lack of rain in June here in CNY. I watered them often to get them through it. Burenglish and Bebbs from Oikos are in their leap year and they are leaping out of the 5' tubes. Schuette's from Nativ putting out a flush now, too. SWOs from the Iowa DNR bare-root planted this year are doing pretty well. I've got English oaks and potential Burenglish hybrid oaks (a columnar English next to two Bur oaks was the tree I took acorns from and the leaves are not looking as English as my other English oaks) doing well in my garden and some rootmakers here at the house.
This is quite an addiction.
Most of my oaks are putting up good growth, despite our lack of rain in June here in CNY. I watered them often to get them through it. Burenglish and Bebbs from Oikos are in their leap year and they are leaping out of the 5' tubes. Schuette's from Nativ putting out a flush now, too. SWOs from the Iowa DNR bare-root planted this year are doing pretty well. I've got English oaks and potential Burenglish hybrid oaks (a columnar English next to two Bur oaks was the tree I took acorns from and the leaves are not looking as English as my other English oaks) doing well in my garden and some rootmakers here at the house.
This is quite an addiction.
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BuckSutherland
5 year old buck +
These are just straight burr oaks. Planted in 2014, I believe. They are about 12-13 feet tall. I think I am gonna remove the 6ft tube and put a cage around them real soon.
BuckSutherland
5 year old buck +
Burr oak and SWO planted around the first week of May this year in 5 foot tubes complete with 4x4 weed mats. It was DRY when I got up north last Thursday. By the time I left Monday morning the new gauge had 3.2" of fresh rain in it. This 40 also has a couple hundred young red oaks. Some of them are finally starting to produce acorns. 
Troubles Trees
5 year old buck +
That is quite a mix of plantings, nice! I try to keep a diverse mix of everything and yes it is definitely an addiction but at least a healthy one lol
If you are in Tully, I am quite literally your neighbor! Chummer in this group isn't far from either of us, small world :)
Knehrke
5 year old buck +
I planted some burgambel and burenglish from Akiva at Twisted Tree Farm a few years ago as well. They are out of their 5' tubes and looking great! I know that purists shudder at the mad mixing between species, but my best plantings have come from crosses like these. Now, if I can wait twenty years or so, I may have enough acorns to attract deer lol.
Where do you guys buy your tree tubes from? I planted 2 swamp oaks and an assortment of hybrid poplars, willows, and cottonwood this year and caged them. Even with the small openings in the cages, something got to some of them and chewed them down. I'm new to planting trees having started with fruit trees 4 years ago which are all caged. It sure seems like tubes would be a much quicker and possibly better process for adding more trees in the future.
scott44
5 year old buck +
I use the 5' Miracle tubes from Tree Pro, I buy 10' - 3/4" PVC conduits and cut them in half for the stakes.
https://www.treepro.com/miracle-tube-tree-shelters
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Troubles Trees
5 year old buck +
Tree tubes can be pricey but they are like little magic greenhouses and well worth the investment if it is doable. If memory serves buying 100 tubes was around $5 each after shipping. I did see Blue Hill Nursery posted on their Farcebook page offering a small pile of used tubes to anyone that came there and claimed them but that was a couple weeks ago now, keep an eye out for that kind of stuff if you aren't in a major hurry.
I actually got lucky on a Farcebook habitat page, I figured someone somewhere was taking tree tubes off their trees so I threw it out there on the site to buy used tubes. It was a 5 hour drive one way to get them but I got roughly 120 tree tubes for free (I made him take $100), the guy had bought 500 tubes to plant trees on his new land and his wife got Cancer :( so he ended up selling his land to pay for medical expenses and gave me the 120 he hadn't used yet as well as probably 1,000 fertilizer pellets that are intended to be put in the hole when planting the trees. I use the tubes for about 2 years and then move them to trees that are behind on growth and they catch up quickly. The only down side to tubes (in my area) is Wasps love to build nests inside them, and it does promote more up than out growth so when you pull a tube, the trees will likely need some form of support.
