North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu>]

At 09:08 AM 08/30/2001 -0500, Joe wrote:
>I planted about 50 assorted oak seedlings two years ago.  The tap
>roots were cut at 4" to 6" long.  The stems were 18" to 24" long.
>They broke bud and clung to life through the summer (it was a wet
>summer).  Four of the original 50 seedlings survived the winter.  So I
>am a little disenchanted with planting seedling oaks, even though the
>"root" cause of mortality was inadequate roots.

Mycorrhizal inoculation might have improved survival rates to some degree, 
but I do *try* to preserve as much root system as is practicable when 
digging oak, pecan, or hickory seedlings out of my nursery beds.  Still, 
you've gotta figure that bare-root oak seedlings have lost the bulk of 
their feeder root system, and are going to require more than a modicum of 
special care.

While direct seeding in the desired location may work - and it might be 
advisable to plant the acorn and install a tree shelter over it at planting 
time - you might also want to consider containerized growing for the first 
year.  If done correctly, it will result in a seedling with a good 
lateralized fibrous root system, and may actually promote earlier fruiting, 
if that's of interest to you.  Have a look at this online article on 
containerized propagation of oaks & nut trees:

http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/agopp/arc/agopp027.txt


Lucky Pittman
USDA Zone 6
Hopkinsville, KY


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