The Woods ... mistakes I'v made

[trampledbyturtles]

Hey oak. Hope all is well. Quick note on hybrids. Tried a heritage oak. Which is a cross between an English and bur. Which I was hoping the increased alkalinity tolerance would help me with my soils. Not so much luck.


Any recs? Thinking I'm stuck with just straight burs at the moment. But dang are they slow.

 

[b116757]

Hey oak. Hope all is well. Quick note on hybrids. Tried a heritage oak. Which is a cross between an English and bur. Which I was hoping the increased alkalinity tolerance would help me with my soils. Not so much luck.
View attachment 79667

Any recs? Thinking I'm stuck with just straight burs at the moment. But dang are they slow.

My acorn planted burs out grow my transplanted by a large margin, transplanting really slows bur oak growth rate in my experience.

 

[b116757]

Also I have been collecting acorns from a Bass Pro shop parking lot for the last several years and shipping out to other members I believe them to be a bur hybrid but that is a guess they maybe worth a try.

 

[b116757]

Here is a thread on those other oaks

Thread 'Burenglish oak???'

Oct 23, 2021

I was at a big box store today and they had oaks planted around the parking lot that I’m somewhat certain are Burenglish oaks. They where not terribly large trees and probably 75% of them where dropping acorns. I wish I would of snapped a couple photos of the leaves now in retrospect. The acorns are a bit odd shaped and from the limited photos of the Burenglish acorns I’ve seen seem to match. Anyone with these oaks can you confirm their drop time?

• b116757
• Replies: 65
• Forum: Native Habitat

 

[OakSeeds]

Hey oak. Hope all is well. Quick note on hybrids. Tried a heritage oak. Which is a cross between an English and bur. Which I was hoping the increased alkalinity tolerance would help me with my soils. Not so much luck.
View attachment 79667

Any recs? Thinking I'm stuck with just straight burs at the moment. But dang are they slow.

TBT ... clearly a heritage with dominate traits of the English parent. Don't quite understand your concerns ... is it slow growth, yellow leaves, etc.
My experience says best growing conditions are 1. sufficient water, 2 elimination of competition, 3 adequate fertilization, and protection from critters... mulching will help both 1 and 2 ... while fertilization with a product like Miracle Grow (acid loving plant product) with essential elements (see post # 357 above) is beneficial for growth. Heritage normally has dark green leaves; however, in the fall some English oaks turn a yellowish color. If your photo is pre-August, it may be time for chelated iron treatment (if the tree has an iron chlorisis problem). Available in either liquid or granules form. Hi-Yield makes an iron sulfate that will also work. Since most of both Dakotas are zone 4, the cold tolerance of the bur parent should ensure harsh winters are tolerable. Good luck and tell us how your efforts with this tree progress.

 

[b116757]

Looks like his trees are suffering from chlorosis I have areas that also have this issue I tried for years to grow a soft maple in my yard even adding ironite around it and digging pits around it and filling them with ironite I finally just gave up on that tree and cut it down.

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[OakSeeds]

5-6 years ago, a friend ask for a couple of trees to screen off a 10' area in the corner of his back yard. I gave him 3 columnar oak acorns and instructions on how to plant them. I recently ask how they were doing; he said you have to come see them. One tree in particular is very interesting. It grew from an acorn off a hybrid (Regal Prince); however, I can't decide if its a mutant or genetic throwback. First, it has giant leaves .... 10.3 inches in length. two distinctly different leaves with regard to shape and color. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a cross between a swamp white oak, an English oak and a bur oak. The original acorn was off a cross between a swo and an English oak that could have been pollinated by a bur oak (3-way cross). Leaf size favors bur oak; leaf color and shape favors both swamp white oak and bur oak (different leaves off same tree - both tops and underside of leaves are different). Photo 1 is top of swo shaped leaf with deep rich green color; photo 2 shows same leaf compared with leaf more bur shaped in shape and color. A striking difference is revealed when the underside of the paired leaves are examined; the silvery and fuzzy swo color and texture vs the darker and smooth aspect of a bur oak. When it begins to fruit, I'll try to plant some that result in F2 hybrids.
Obviously, if I want to duplicate this tree, grafting will clearly be in order. Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

[OakSeeds]

For the folks in Mo ... From NWTF
International oaks
NWTF-Missouri

"This week on #WoodlandWednesday, Black Oak decline. Species in the Red Oak Group (i.e., Black Oak, Northern Red Oak, Blackjack Oak, etc) are in general shorter lived compared to species in the White Oak Group. Black Oak decline occurs when a large percentage of Red Oak group species begin to die out of a stand all at once. This is something that is occurring across much of Missouri, and is more prominent on poorer sites, such as rocky South and West facing slopes across the Ozarks. One reason this is occurring, is because many of the Black Oaks across this area are of similar ages (60-100 years old) that germinated during a period of more intense harvesting in the past. Another consideration for the cause of Black Oak decline is that many of our woodlands and forests are overstocked (too many trees per acre) which means that trees have less resources, and are not healthy. Weather events such as the drought we’ve had the last couple of years and diseases such as root rot and stem cankers, can cause widespread dieback of unhealthy trees. Managing your forested acres by reducing tree densities to a healthy level, can improve growth and health of the existing trees. This will also provide higher quality habitat for species like Turkey and Deer, because you will have a lot more vegetation growing at ground level (browse, seeds, insect sources) after allowing light to hit the ground. Are you seeing Black Oak decline on your wooded acres?"

 

[b116757]

^^^^ I wonder how much of this is oak wilt?

 

[Teeder]

My little bit of experience with Black Oak started after we bought our hunting property in 2017. There were only a couple dozen oaks, about 50/50 NRO and Black. Within that first year or so I released all those trees. It took a couple years to see a difference, but the past 2 years my oaks have been absolutely loaded, especially the Blacks. They are putting a ton of mast out! Black Oak acorns are smaller than the NRO and the turkeys really love them.

 

[OakSeeds]

A gentle reminder... be on the lookout for potential hybrid white oak trees in your community. They could be oak trees producing acorns or young trees that are located in such a way that cross pollination is possible when they begin producing acorns. The attached photo exhibits a good example. The columnar oak tree in the foreground is a hybrid columnar white oak called a crimson spire (cross between straight white oak and col. English oak). The tree to the immediate left, 10 yards away, is a bur oak. Since they are located in an W-E configuration, with a southwest prevailing wind, it is highly likely some cross pollination may occur in the future. Both trees produced acorns this year; I gathered 7 off the Crimson Spire to plant this fall .. hope to see signs of possible hybrid when new trees develop. I suggest you keep a watchful eye on local tree plantings in your community since multiple street tree plantings often include multiple oak species. Probably won't find these types of situations very often in the wild. Good luck my friends.

 

[Teeder]

I have a couple areas of wild trees that I collect from each year. One area has a mix of swamp white and white oaks. I have one tree that was started from these that looks very much like a cross (Jack Oak). The other area has a white oak with numerous chestnut oak trees surrounding it. The chestnut oak branches go right into the white. I got a couple handfuls of both white and chestnut acorns from these last weekend. Bonus was listening to elk bugling while my wife and I dug through the leaves!

 

[OakSeeds]

Posted on the Mississippi Native Plant Society Group ....

"Nice walk with XXX XXXX yesterday. He pointed out this Scarlet oak infected with the Chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. I was unaware that many Oaks can harbor the disease seldom dying from it. Symptoms are cankers and pustules of sunken, swollen, or orange-colored lesions on the bark. Most affected are the red oak group although usually not killed. Least affected are the White oak group. Actions that spread the fungus are discouraged."

 

[Teeder]

That's interesting. I didn't know oaks could get that.

 

[OakSeeds]

Great discovery ... late dropping English oak. On Sept.-30 a fellow who gathers acorns for us showed me an English oak tree loaded with acorns that had yet to drop an acorn. Today, November 5, 2025 I visited that same tree and was astonished that the ground was covered with fresh acorns (heavy winds in central IL for last 2-3 days). I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the canopy of the tree and saw substantial numbers of acorns remaining on the tree. My experience with limited English oak trees reflects trees that have dropped most of their acorns by Oct 1.
Perhaps folks with more experience with EO's (than me) can indicate drop times for trees they have/or know about. Teeder is clearly a person who may have insights. I brought 10 fresh acorns home to plant in the spring; my intent is a small 5-6 tree grove that would serve as a mini-vertical- food-plot during the 1st week of November (assuming most/some of the trees retain the late-dropping characteristic). Some photos!

 

[Teeder]

Nice one! I have 3-4 dozen producing English trees, but only 2 that drop late.
Just checked 1 today and it still has a nice load and 6 deer under it this afternoon. This tree's been dropping for over a month now!

 

[Swampwalker]

Great discovery ... late dropping English oak. On Sept.-30 a fellow who gathers acorns for us showed me an English oak tree loaded with acorns that had yet to drop an acorn. Today, November 5, 2025 I visited that same tree and was astonished that the ground was covered with fresh acorns (heavy winds in central IL for last 2-3 days). I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the canopy of the tree and saw substantial numbers of acorns remaining on the tree. My experience with limited English oak trees reflects trees that have dropped most of their acorns by Oct 1.
Perhaps folks with more experience with EO's (than me) can indicate drop times for trees they have/or know about. Teeder is clearly a person who may have insights. I brought 10 fresh acorns home to plant in the spring; my intent is a small 5-6 tree grove that would serve as a mini-vertical- food-plot during the 1st week of November (assuming most/some of the trees retain the late-dropping characteristic). Some photos!

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Nice find on the English Oak acorns. They are on my list to find and plant on our place. I’m in west Michigan and read that the MSU campus in east Lansing has English Oaks and guys have collected acorns from them. Hopefully I can make it over there the next time they have an abundant drop.