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Little Oak Tree
I would think almost everybody on this forum has grown an oak tree from an acorn picked up on a walk. They must be the easiest of all the big seeds to germinate. Many of them germinate from acorns buried by birds or squirrels for their winter food.
Your best bet is to liberate it from the pot in your garden or a local park or somewhere it can grow to full height.
Your best bet is to liberate it from the pot in your garden or a local park or somewhere it can grow to full height.
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We have a very large oak tree in our garden and rake up as many acorns as we can every year. Last year we seemed to have far more than previous years. We also pull up any that have taken root during the year too. We must have missed a couple at some point as we found 2 about a couple of feet tall at the bottom of the garden and had to dig them out, even at that height the roots went quite deep.
My dad has Susan and it's an absolute stunner. His is it in a large pot now and it brings him a lot of joy because the colours are just amazing. Hope yours brings you as much happiness.
It is a lovely tree Susan, its a beautiful shape. Hope yours continues to grow.
Puzzled. Mike, are you saying that there is scientific evidence that acorns 'planted' by jays and squirrels grow into the best trees, and is this because they select the biggest and best acorns?
Does this evidence record all acorns planted by the birds/animals, or only the ones that germinated and grew?
Do humans not 'select' the acorns that they plant?
Or have I misunderstood your point?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We often find oak seedlings at the monastery, sown, probably, by jays. I generally mark them so they don't get mown and the following winter (if they're still going) either pot them up for a year or two or transplant them somewhere more suitable. Those in the veg beds get removed earlier. I do have this dream of turning the current rhododendron jungle into an oak wood....
Dreams can come true Steve ...... if you want any acorns let us know
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I could have given you barrel loads last year Steve
Sowing acorns/planting trees is the easy bit. Cutting back and digging out the rhodies is the problerm! Partly because the nuns (who own the land) don't want the woodland interefered with or any tree cut down!
One rhododendron in a garden and under control is fine. Hundreds of them taking over a semi-natural mixed deciduous native woodland is another matter entirely.
OH has an 80-year old oak in her garden in Belgium which also produces acorns and she mows the seedlings in the lawn (well, moss mostly) in the spring. It also impoverishes the soil and casts loads of shade making it diffucult to grow veg. You can't have everything...