Oaks: Let's have a hard conversation

[Teeder]

Sawtooths do the same for me (hold onto their leaves through the winter). It's a great alternative to cedar trees when looking for a screen, but you wouldn't want to use them as a screen where you don't want deer (road) because they do have a draw for a couple of weeks.

We got around 5 feet of snow the first week of rifle season and the deer were coming in and eating the leaves off my sawtooth trees. The branches were held down nicely for them!

 

[Teeder]

I only have young trees, but the schuette's are holding well.

 

[bwoods11]

The holding leaves until now is an overlooked feature of planting certain oaks trees!

That’s a big factor!

 

[Stubborn1VT]

I was in town today. I took several pictures of swamp white oaks vs burr oaks. I really like how the SWO hangs onto those leaves into the winter. Also love the later acorn drop. Also got a picture of a crab apple tree in front of McDonalds. That thing was bigly loaded with little apples. I hope to see crabs like that in my woods some day. Hopefully I convince a few of you to plant some SWO and crab apples.

I thought of this post when I went to check a couple of trail cameras on a permission property near my house. Out of all the trees in a 2 acre island of mostly oaks, only the swamp white oaks were holding their leaves. There are also a few red oaks and some other very big oaks that I believe are burrs. It gave me the idea to cut a handful of competing trees away from the SWO this winter. The owner of the property has given me free reign to cut dead stuff and thin where it might be beneficial. The SWO were the only whites that had acorns this year. They were very small, but they were the best tasting acorns I have tried. The only other oaks that had acorns were a couple of red oaks on the north property line. (I knew enough not to taste test those.)

 

[g squared 23]

My concordias were holding most of their leaves last week, was very happy about that. I’ve heard shingles hold well too and the bitter small acorns shouldn’t attract much


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[gjs4]

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Are swamp White oaks only for wetter ground?? Any good in uplands?

 

[OakSeeds]

BNB ... all the SWO trees pictured on this thread are in essentially "upland" equivalent landscapes. They'll do find in an upland setting .. the wet feet tolerance is a useful added benefit for some.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

BNB ... all the SWO trees pictured on this thread are in essentially "upland" equivalent landscapes. They'll do find in an upland setting .. the wet feet tolerance is a useful added benefit for some.

Thanks a bunch, OakSeeds. I'll order a couple for this spring. Gotta cage 'em at camp - deer breakfast.

 

[BuckSutherland]

I watched this same video a couple days ago. I really had to chuckle. There is no way in hell that a mature deer walks through a woods like that in daylight where I hunt. ZERO percent chance to see deer in stuff like that. Even with the hinge cuts and stuff he does they still would avoid it like the plague. If there were acorns laying there the deer would come from them between 1am-4am and then would be half a mile away by the time the sun was coming up.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Thanks a bunch, OakSeeds. I'll order a couple for this spring. Gotta cage 'em at camp - deer breakfast.

Oak is 100% correct. They will do just fine upland. Look for spots that are more loamy type soil instead of clay. I have some that are in tough clay and they are struggling a bit. The ones in more loamy pockets are doing much better.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I watched this same video a couple days ago. I really had to chuckle. There is no way in hell that a mature deer walks through a woods like that in daylight where I hunt. ZERO percent chance to see deer in stuff like that. Even with the hinge cuts and stuff he does they still would avoid it like the plague. If there were acorns laying there the deer would come from them between 1am-4am and then would be half a mile away by the time the sun was coming up.

Same here. Our deer aren't suicidal. Those types of open woods are what we've been trying to correct with planned logging, natural regen, planting seedlings, etc.

Oak is 100% correct. They will do just fine upland. Look for spots that are more loamy type soil instead of clay. I have some that are in tough clay and they are struggling a bit. The ones in more loamy pockets are doing much better.

We have some clayish-loam soil areas that grow alfalfa pretty well, so they might be possible areas for SWO. We have no real heavy, wet, sticky clay - most of our camp soil drains pretty well. Our native oaks all around our camp's mountains are white, northern red, chestnut oak, with a few black oaks. No native SWO in our mountains - no experience with SWO. We have several fields (camp is an old farmstead - lots of sun). I guess it can't hurt to try a couple SWO. Younger camp members will benefit down the road. Maybe get some hybridization with native WO??

Thanks for the X2 with Oakseeds.