Growing Oak trees from acorns
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
I am planning to try to grow some oak trees from fallen acorns this year. Has anyone tried this, and what was the outcome? I have picked up some acorns from our oak tree, but they are mostly still green. Can green acorns be used to grow trees. Many of the acorns have a growth on them, which I can only assume is a gaul of some kind, will these harm the established tree and will they affect the acorns and any saplings that grow from the acorns?
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I am not expert in this but I think I recall being told that they germinate best from fresh seed so I would certainly give it a try. I have planted Acorns in the past & they seem to germinate fairly easily, a lot that get buried by squirrels seem to produce saplings.
yes lots. Put them in small pots of ordinary soil or soil/leaf mould and keep them somewhere outside out of the sun. They need frost to germinate. You could 'stratify' them in the fridge but I've not attempted that
Thanks Iain & raisingirl for your positive and helpful replies. I planted two pots (with 5 acorns in each) today and have picked up another dozen or so acorns to plant in a few days time. I soaked the acorns in water for 24 hours before planting them. I have put the pots in the greenhouse for now, but will put them outside in a few days time.
The oak tree sapling that we planted in the garden, was about 15 years ago, and it is already about 20 foot tall, so it must grow at the rate of about a foot a year, and in hindsight I wish we had planted more of them.
I am not into putting garden stuff in the fridge, is it just me? A vet once told us to hibernate our tortoises in the fridge - imagine ........!!
Last edited: 06 September 2017 16:40:36
I have potted four that the squirrels planted for me.
I'm not into putting stuff in the fridge either. Nature has a fridge, it's called winter. It doesn't have to be a severe winter to get them going. You don't need to do anything except bury them and leave them outside.
Don't forget to take them out of the GH, they do not want to be there
In the sticks near Peterborough
Yes, you are right nut, I will take them out of the greenhouse tomorrow. My thinking was a bit of warmth would get them to germinate quicker, but you are right, they grow easily enough outside where they land. We have many sycamore saplings growing under the parent trees, usually in places where we don't want them.