A couple of days ago I planted an acorn with my daughter, and by George, I think it’s going to grow. Over Easter I traveled to BC to visit my folks who live south of Revelstoke, and as we waited for the ferry, we took a little walk in the park-like rest area. Most of the ground still had snow on it, but there were a few bare patches underneath a few oak trees. Most of the acorns had been taken by the wild animals over winter, but we found a few. And wouldn’t you know it, some of them had begun to sprout.
So we collected them in a little plastic bag we had and added a little water so they wouldn’t dry out. Once we got to my folks house, I filled the bag with some damp sawdust so they would survive the several days it would be until we returned home. And they seemed to thrive in that sawdust, because what had been just a little knob peeking out of the shell grew into a good sprout by the time we got home.
Now on the top of my fridge sits two little pots that are hopefully growing a couple of oak trees. I’m not sure how long it will take to see anything on the surface, but I’m confident that by next spring, I’ll have at least one little seedling that I can plant in our yard… as long as I remember to water it.
Update: April 12, 2008
Wow! Just one week later, this little seedling has sprouted and sits at about two inches tall! The other acorn I planted is slightly smaller, but it has two stems. Is that normal?
Update: April 21, 2008
Now five inches high and eight inches wide. Looking good!
16 replies on “Planting An Oak Tree”
Good for you! I have 2 oak trees that were planted here…..make sure to stake them….ours need to be…the wind here is hard on them especially if they are in the open. Wow! I really enjoy reading your blog! Lots of ideas!
Hey, thanks for reading! It’s nice to be useful! Did you plant your oaks from seed? If so, when did you stick ’em in the ground?
The oak tress were here when we moved here in May and are about 5 feet tall…the wind sure beats them up! I know my dad dug some out and tried to transplant them….it didn’t work. 🙁 I’m hoping yours will be successful! 🙂
My neighbour recently planted an oak that was grown from an acorn. It had sprouted in a sheltered place behind a shed at his brother’s house, and he left it there until it got big enough (5′) to transplant. It’s now been in its new location for two years and it’s going strong. If you can find a sheltered location to put it temporarily, til it matures a bit, I’d recommend this method.
Jill
Edmonton
Thanks for the information, Jill. Good to know. I may have just the shed in mind… 🙂
I dug up a tiny sapling from my mother’s yard in the fall of 2008. I had a pumpkin shell I put soil in it as well as the sapling. This spring I see it has survived the winter, So far so good. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Mankind never fully realises his own true worth until he sits in the shade of a tree he knows he has planted!
Many years ago on Earth Day, we planted trees with each Grandchild old enough and parents planted for or with the younger ones. Each year I read to them Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree. Each year we measured the trees and the children. WE’d take a picture of each child with their tree. (Until we left the farm in yr 1999) BUT we can still go back.
Now in their 20’s my grands ask if I still read that book to younger grands and if I still sing that lullabye that made me yawn. Too funny! I had incorporated a yawn in the lullabye then after a time even the thought of the stanza made me yawn!
Each Tree is a Legacy we gift our Earth and our grandchildren will always think of what we returned to the Earth and the atmosphere those years . God Spoils us so! Gramma Klassen
We are moving in a couple of days to an acreage just outside of New Norway (20 minutes from Camrose) There is an oak tree growing in the front yard all by itself that we are told is about 100 years old. It was planted in 1917, and was about 6 feet tall when it was planted by Mrs. Cooper when she and her husband built the house. We think it is beautiful, and we are going to name our place Lonely Oak Hideaway. We have lots of work to do fixing up the old homestead, but we look forward to sitting in the shade of the old oak tree when we take our breaks. Pam and Dwight.
Hi Pam and Dwight
Send me your phone #
I just saw your blog, and sure would like to see that oak tree. Is there any possibility that you could send a picture of that old tree to here or to my email? I sure would appreciate it!
Lovely!
we have a few oaks in our yard ouside of Chicago. And just today I found a sprouting acorn I was about to cut with the lawnmover. That young oak tree is now in a large pot with garden soil. It will eventually be planted at the back area of our yard..for future ownerd=s to enjoy with an overview of a small pond.
We have just bought an older home in Edmonton. It has a young oak tree about 20 ft tall in the front yard. It looks very healthy, with one exception, there are many galls on the tree from Gall Wasps. I understand that this will not harm the tree, but, does anyone know how to eliminate these wasps from using this tree.The oak is beautiful except for the ugly galls.
Douglas Tallamy’s new book ‘The Nature of Oaks’ is very interesting and will give you a new appreciation of galls!
i just got some live oak acorns brought to me by a friend from America.I live in Nigeria,Lagos state how do i plant them.waiting to hearing from you please.
Alfred: Take a look at these links:
Collect & Plant an Acorn
Growing Oaks from Seeds
Hi. I was wondering if anyone knows of any publication (paper, not e-book or PDF)of Alberta trees (with pictures)that includes the non-traditional species. Even the “Lone Pine” series of books will only list the traditional species and from my own window I can see many that aren’t listed. Thank-you