Do potted oak trees shock in too much sunshine too fast?

[Angus 1895]

I have used recycle bins, storage totes, and large, deep pots with a lot of success. There is more dirt in the larger containers so they don't dry out as quickly. Roots will get tangled, but it isn't that hard to separate the roots when it is time to plant them. You can plant 50 acorns in a bin like the one below. Some acorns will not germinate while others will struggle. Pull the ones that are not thriving and you can grow 15-20 nice seedlings in one container.
View attachment 81401

How and when do you transplant them?

 

[The Fishman]

I plant the acorns in January or February. I am in the south so you can adjust accordingly on when to plant them. I usually plant the seedlings between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The only trees I keep more than a few months are ones that I graft. I will graft the following spring and transplant in the following fall. Once the seedlings are dormant, I take the entire bin to the planting area and then separate the seedlings for planting.

 

[TreeDaddy]

I plant the acorns in January or February. I am in the south so you can adjust accordingly on when to plant them. I usually plant the seedlings between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The only trees I keep more than a few months are ones that I graft. I will graft the following spring and transplant in the following fall. Once the seedlings are dormant, I take the entire bin to the planting area and then separate the seedlings for planting.

I do the same

I have a backyard full of baby live oak,whiteoak,allegheny chinquapin and a few serviceberry

I also plant in dormancy( late November in East Texas)

bill

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I think we should have a separate thread on growing trees from seed. I know there have been several threads started but it might be a good idea to keep them all in one place.

I grow a few hundred trees from seed each year and have tried most methods/pot styles I have come across. I typically grow chestnuts, hazelnuts, oaks, and persimmons. Even though I know things like the bin method or building custom air-pruning boxes are easier and at the same time more effective, I still like to try and grow some from seed indoors as a winter project. Also, because I live so far from my property, it is nice to have a reliable container to move plants safely to the field. The deeper tree tubes from greenhouse megastore work great for oaks, but the carrying trays are awful. I have stacks of the deep tubes because the trays have all cracked and are not stable. I think in most cases you don't need much more than a 12 inch deep pot if you can transplant it to the field soon enough.

What I have moved towards is really cheap tree pots from Amazon. They are supposed to be single use but I have gotten at least two seasons out of them. One thing that I don't like is that you can damage some roots when taking them from the pots. I think they are the best value for what you get though and work for what most here would be needing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR9HZQ6Z?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I did have quite a bit of success this year with Zipset band pots. They are also cheap, stack densely into a container, but they are just a one-time use. Also, because they don't have bottoms the media you use is much more important: https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/zipset-plant-bands

Band pots are what most university tree breeding programs are using. I think they last for several seasons and are easy to re-use, but I can't seem to find taller pots available for retail purchase: https://stuewe.com/product/4-x-10-anderson-band/

Something I am excited to try next winter are Ellepots and airtrays. A few commercial tree nurseries I have been following have shifted over to start using these. They are combining the benefits of rootmakers with biodegradeable bags. I think they are likely overkill if you are just growing a few trees from seed, but if you like to try new techniques they might be worth checking out: https://www.ellepot.com/ellepot-products/trays/ø120-mm-overview/006global/

 

[Teeder]

The last ones look very interesting!

 

[Angus 1895]

I think we should have a separate thread on growing trees from seed. I know there have been several threads started but it might be a good idea to keep them all in one place.

I grow a few hundred trees from seed each year and have tried most methods/pot styles I have come across. I typically grow chestnuts, hazelnuts, oaks, and persimmons. Even though I know things like the bin method or building custom air-pruning boxes are easier and at the same time more effective, I still like to try and grow some from seed indoors as a winter project. Also, because I live so far from my property, it is nice to have a reliable container to move plants safely to the field. The deeper tree tubes from greenhouse megastore work great for oaks, but the carrying trays are awful. I have stacks of the deep tubes because the trays have all cracked and are not stable. I think in most cases you don't need much more than a 12 inch deep pot if you can transplant it to the field soon enough.

What I have moved towards is really cheap tree pots from Amazon. They are supposed to be single use but I have gotten at least two seasons out of them. One thing that I don't like is that you can damage some roots when taking them from the pots. I think they are the best value for what you get though and work for what most here would be needing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR9HZQ6Z?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I did have quite a bit of success this year with Zipset band pots. They are also cheap, stack densely into a container, but they are just a one-time use. Also, because they don't have bottoms the media you use is much more important: https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/zipset-plant-bands

Band pots are what most university tree breeding programs are using. I think they last for several seasons and are easy to re-use, but I can't seem to find taller pots available for retail purchase: https://stuewe.com/product/4-x-10-anderson-band/

Something I am excited to try next winter are Ellepots and airtrays. A few commercial tree nurseries I have been following have shifted over to start using these. They are combining the benefits of rootmakers with biodegradeable bags. I think they are likely overkill if you are just growing a few trees from seed, but if you like to try new techniques they might be worth checking out: https://www.ellepot.com/ellepot-products/trays/ø120-mm-overview/006global/

Do you think 12 inch deep pots are deep enough if you store them over a winter and plant them the next spring ?

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Do you think 12 inch deep pots are deep enough if you store them over a winter and plant them the next spring ?

I have had horrible luck keeping seedling trees in individual pots over winter. I try to get them all in the ground in the fall and early winter.

The pots dry out or get too cold, even when stored in a garage. Even when planted in mulch outside rodents find the seedlings or they rot. There are just too many things that go wrong that I have gotten to the point that if I have any seedlings in pots that survived the winter, they are just a bonus, otherwise I assume they are all dead.