Bur Oak Germinated Acorns

[pmalelis]

Ok, so there was a lot of contradicting info all over on Bur oak, many say its a white oak and white oaks do not need cold and germinate in the fall. Others say a period of Cold is needed.

Im Zone 5 in NY.

I collected small acorned variety of Bur oak seeds and soaked them peroxide/Water and Wet Towel. All have now sprouted a Radicle. My thinking is I now place them all under about 2 inches of soil in pots protected by a wire cage and leave out over the winter and the actual "plant" should not sprout till spring. Is this correct? @Leo in N E Illinois I remember you may have some experience with Bur oak in colder zones

 

[hemmy]

Ok, so there was a lot of contradicting info all over on Bur oak, many say its a white oak and white oaks do not need cold and germinate in the fall. Others say a period of Cold is needed.

Im Zone 5 in NY.

I collected small acorned variety of Bur oak seeds and soaked them peroxide/Water and Wet Towel. All have now sprouted a Radicle. My thinking is I now place them all under about 2 inches of soil in pots protected by a wire cage and leave out over the winter and the actual "plant" should not sprout till spring. Is this correct? @Leo in N E Illinois I remember you may have some experience with Bur oak in colder zones

I have burr oak in the landscape. The squirrels bury the acorns in the Fall (including in my pots) and they come up in the Spring. I’d assume that some are sprouting radicles by early Dec. before we have typically had hard freezes. In plants that I’ve brought in the garage, I’ve had the acorns sprout up in Jan-Feb.

I’d mulch your pots to try and prevent the super hard freezes.

There are also good seed sources for acorns online. Sheffields and F.W. Schumacher.

Good luck!

 

[Shibui]

Most oaks sprout a radicle well before the shoots emerge so I would not be surprised to see yours wait until spring to show above the soil.
I would not normally bury acorns that deep because I want to encourage low branching and surface rooting but my winters are nowhere near as cold. maybe deeper will be better for you.
I have noted that oaks tend to send down a very strong tap root with few laterals until quite a ways down. Nipping the end out of the radicle seems to stimulate laterals at that point. I've even broken the entire radicle off just below the seed and they still grow new laterals and, obviously, a much shallower root system.

 

[pmalelis]

Most oaks sprout a radicle well before the shoots emerge so I would not be surprised to see yours wait until spring to show above the soil.
I would not normally bury acorns that deep because I want to encourage low branching and surface rooting but my winters are nowhere near as cold. maybe deeper will be better for you.
I have noted that oaks tend to send down a very strong tap root with few laterals until quite a ways down. Nipping the end out of the radicle seems to stimulate laterals at that point. I've even broken the entire radicle off just below the seed and they still grow new laterals and, obviously, a much shallower root system.

Great things to think about. Just read a couple of studies on rodents radicle pruning germinating acorns. And it found it created a more branched root mass and helped nutrient absobsorbtion. And never negatively impacted germination. Will definitely trim them

 

[Shibui]

Will definitely trim them

Like for any new procedure, just try a few at first to make sure bur oak responds well. It's a species I don't have access to so can't guarantee trimming the root will work as it does on others. I'd hate to be responsible for you losing a whole batch and being set back a year. Leaving some untouched will give you a control to measure against and an insurance policy in case something goes wrong.