Oak from acorn at home. How to grow?

Preparatory stage

It is always better to grow native tree species. For Russia (in its European part), pedunculate oak is typical, but sometimes red oak is also found, so you need to be able to distinguish the seeds. The acorn of the pedunculate oak has an oval shape and a smooth surface, while its American counterpart is round and pubescent.

Oak acorns need to be collected in the fall, preferably in October. You cannot pick them from the tree; only whole, large, heavy brown fruits that have fallen from the branches themselves will do. Greenish specimens should not be collected, as they are not suitable. It is recommended to shake the fallen nuts vigorously and listen to see if the core is alive inside. It is also recommended to take with you slightly fallen leaves and soil from the place where the mother plant grows to preserve planting material. At home you also need to check the “harvest”. To do this, just fill a basin with water (cold only) and put the acorns in there: those that float to the top are unusable, they can be collected and thrown away. After 7 minutes, you need to check the planting material again. Those specimens that remain at the bottom are excellent raw materials for planting.

It is quite possible to grow an oak tree from an acorn in a pot, the main thing is to sow it in the spring. Under no circumstances should you try to germinate a seed in the fall; it is a waste of time. Trees grown out of season have difficulty taking root and grow weak.

Planting material must overwinter either in natural conditions under snow cover in the forest, or at home. This is done like this:

1. You need to take a jar with a lid.
2. Make holes in the lid for ventilation.
3. Pour the collected soil into the container along with the leaves.
4. Place acorns there.
5. Close the container with a lid and place it in a place with a temperature of at least 2 degrees Celsius (refrigerator or cellar).

While the blanks are being stratified, you need to learn how to germinate oak acorns. “Overwintered” fruits should be placed, for example, in damp sphagnum moss and left in the refrigerator for 3 months. How long it takes for the roots to break through depends on the type and type of tree. Planting material with roots that have appeared must be handled very carefully, protecting it from various damages.

You can, of course, take a simpler route and try to find a sprouted acorn in the first days of spring, when the snow has melted, but the sprout has not yet taken root. Such a “find” must be immediately wrapped in damp material; it cannot be kept in the air, as the roots will dry out.

Reproduction methods

It is possible to propagate and grow an oak tree using two methods:

• By cuttings. For this method, it is better to use cuttings of annual specimens, because adults are very difficult to root. To plant the plant, you must wait until the first two summer months. The branches must be strong, undamaged, healthy, without signs of rotting.
• Acorns. Gardeners use this method most often. The fruits are harvested in early or mid-autumn. To successfully grow a specimen, it is recommended to treat the sprouted fruits with biostimulating agents.

Instructions: how to plant an oak acorn at home

You can choose any container, the main thing is that it has a volume of at least 1 liter and a height of at least 20 cm. It can be a pot for flowerpots made of ceramics or plastic, cut cardboard or plastic drink containers, or a popcorn bucket. It is necessary to make holes at the bottom for water to escape. These holes are also necessary to see how much the root has sprouted. If the roots begin to appear in holes and curl, it means you need a larger container or it’s time to replant.

Step by step guide:

1. Fill the prepared container with substrate. It is better to take a universal flower or soil from the place where the mother oak grows. You can also make the mixture yourself - from fertile soil mixed with peat moss.
2. Make a small hole 2.5 cm deep.
3. Place the germinating nut in the hole in a horizontal position and sprinkle with soil mixture.
4. Water well.
5. Cover the container with a damp cloth, a piece of glass or film to create a greenhouse effect.

Watering should be done every few days, focusing on the moisture content of the substrate. The top layer of soil in the pot should be slightly damp, but not dry or wet.

Instructions for cultivating seedlings

Sprouted acorns are planted in pots. It is better to plant each fruit in an individual container, since when planting young oak trees, their root structure will be damaged.

Pots are chosen with a diameter of about 5-10 cm. It is better if they are deep. Plastic glasses with a capacity of 0.2 or 0.5 liters are suitable. They are filled with nutritious, loose soil with the addition of sphagnum moss to retain moisture.

Leave 1-2 cm free to the top of the container; this is necessary for further watering. At the bottom of the container, drainage holes must be installed to drain excess moisture.

Oak acorns are placed in pots on their sides, spine down, and buried a few centimeters. Lightly compacted soil is watered generously so that water flows out of the drainage holes. Place the container on the windowsill and moisten the soil as it dries. Do not let the soil dry out: this is detrimental to the sprout.

Rules of care

Now you need to be patient. The seed will first produce a root, and after 23–28 days a sprout should appear. At this stage, the main task is to ensure good lighting. If there is not enough light, the seedling is unlikely to have time to grow stronger during the season. Therefore, you should not place a container with a plant on window sills on the north side of the house or windows that are shaded by nearby high-rise buildings. If there is no bright place in the apartment, it is better to buy a special light bulb for plants and install it as a source of additional lighting.

When 6–7 weeks have passed since germination, it is advisable to feed the seedling. You can use any complex mineral fertilizer according to the instructions, but not organic fertilizer.

It is also highly recommended to keep the tree in conditions as close to natural as possible. It’s great if there is a balcony or open window sill. Otherwise, a few weeks before transplanting to a permanent place, you need to harden it outside. At the same time, a few minutes is enough for the first time. At first, you cannot place the container with the seedling in a sunny place; the leaves may get burned.

Now the question of whether it is possible to grow an oak from an acorn disappears by itself. This is quite easy to do even for a schoolchild.

How to defeat diseases and pests?

In order to grow a strong, powerful tree, it will take years of care and observation. The first frosts are very dangerous; damaged areas are treated first with an antiseptic and then with garden varnish for quick healing. Here are a few signs by which you can determine that an oak tree is “suffering”:

1. Falling bark indicates necrosis of the trunk or branches. The causative agent of this disease is a fungus (marsupial or condial). Subsequently, the branches begin to die and the plant dies. Treatment involves treating the affected areas with iron sulfate. It is produced before the buds open.
2. Trees of any age can be infected with dropsy bacteria. Swellings form under the bark; inside they are filled with liquid. As soon as the “skin” in the affected area cracks, mucus begins to flow out. This disease is bacterial, it cannot be treated, only prevention is possible in the form of timely pruning of dry, damaged branches, destruction and harvesting of cut shoots.
3. Pests such as oak beetle, gall midges, and green leaf rollers are destroyed by treating them with pesticides.

Most diseases are the result of either severe drought and heat, or excessive humidity. And if it is impossible to fight the rains, then during a particularly dry season it is worth organizing abundant watering and spraying.

Features of planting in open ground

The seedlings need to be carefully looked after and next fall it will be possible to transplant them to a permanent place, for example, where it is planned to revive the forest. It is easy to determine the readiness of seedlings. It already has a sufficiently formed root system, there is a central root, leaves, and the plants themselves have reached 17–20 centimeters in height.

It is very important to consider the distance between trees. As adults, they should not be a hindrance to each other. Therefore, the optimal distance between trees in a park or garden is about 5 m. If you need to create a dense planting, these numbers are reduced.

As for the soil, it is better to make a nutrient mixture from the following components:

• leaf soil;
• peat;
• sand;
• turf;
• a little expanded clay (if the soil is too heavy).

Before planting, you need to check whether the main root has sprouted through the bottom. If yes, then you definitely need to cut off the protruding part with sharp scissors. If not, you need to cut off the part that has curled and rounded, resting on the bottom. This is very important for oak - that the root is straight and not twisted.

Seedlings must be replanted carefully, removing them from a container with a large lump of earth. The holes need to be dug a little deeper than the existing pots, then loosen the soil at the bottom and carefully place the seedling. Without damage, a transplant can only be performed at an early age. Otherwise, the root system of the tree grows greatly and deepens, which creates difficulties during the replanting process.

When planting, you need to make sure that the root collar remains at ground level or even a little higher. Under no circumstances should it be buried, as this may negatively affect the growth of the tree. For several days after planting, it is important to water the plants well, increasing the volume of water in hot weather.

In the first years after planting, it is important to monitor the regularity of watering, promptly weed out weeds and loosen the soil to a depth of about 22 cm. 4 weeks before the leaves begin to fall, it is advised to stop watering so that the seedlings can prepare for winter. The trees respond well to fertilizing. It is enough to dilute mullein, ammonium nitrate and urea in water and feed the plantings.

Young seedlings are highly susceptible to powdery mildew. To prevent the disease, it is necessary to promptly treat the plantings with colloidal sulfur or other similar means.

Replanting oak from the forest

If you don’t have time to grow a seedling from an acorn, but you want to plant an oak tree on your plot right now, there are two options: buy a seedling at a garden center, or transplant a young tree from the forest.

Replanting a young oak can only be done in the fall, after cool weather sets in. It will be easier for a tree that has slowed down its metabolic processes to take root in a new place.

Before going to the forest, you need to prepare a place for planting a tree, take with you a shovel and material in which the root system will be wrapped during transportation.

So. They came to the grove and looked at the oak tree. Do not take specimens above the knee, since the older the tree, the less likely it is that it will take root well; in addition, the volume of the root system is larger, and it must be dug up without damage and transported to the planting site.

To determine the diameter of the root system, you need to measure the circumference of the trunk and multiply this number by 10. At this distance you can dig without the risk of damaging the roots.

At the new place of residence, the earthen lump is immersed in a prepared hole so that it is 5-6 cm above ground level. In the spring, the soil will settle and the difference will go away. The diameter of the planting hole should be 40 cm larger than the root ball. Provide the oak with supports; they can be removed next summer.

Scope of application

Oak acorns deserve special attention, the use of which is possible in many areas of human life.

The main way to restore oak forests is to sow acorns. Therefore, many people attract volunteers, schoolchildren and everyone who cares about nature and hold campaigns to collect planting material to help forestry.

You can often hear the question of whether people eat oak acorns. These fruits are rich in starch and easily digestible carbohydrates. True, the tanning components give them a slightly bitter taste and viscosity, but they are easily removed during the soaking process. The soaked nuts are fried until golden brown and turned into powder. The resulting drink is very similar to coffee, but has medicinal properties and alleviates bronchial asthma and cough.

Raw fruits have an unpleasant taste and, due to excessive amounts of tannic acid, can be poisonous to humans. Therefore, wondering whether it is possible to eat oak acorns, many clarify in what form they are allowed to be eaten.

First of all, the harvested “harvest” needs to be blanched - washed in hot water until it becomes clear. You can also simply leave the fruits in a soda solution (1 tbsp per liter of water). Soaked acorns need to be dried well.

Recipe uses:

• You can make flour from dry raw materials and use it to make baked goods.
• Sifting the flour and removing the fibers produces starch, often used in Korean dishes.
• You can make delicious butter by blending acorns in a blender and sweetening them, it will turn out just as good as peanut butter.
• You can also pickle acorns in brine, like olives. This is not only a real delicacy, but also an effective medicine.
• You can replace nuts, peas, lentils, beans with fried fruits, and make a seasoning or sauce out of them.
• Children will surely enjoy fried, peeled and dipped in sugar syrup - better and healthier than store-bought candies.

Recent studies have shown that such products can normalize cholesterol and blood sugar levels, so they are not only tasty, but also healthy food.

Interesting facts about acorns

Below is some interesting information about these types of nuts:

• The Celts, as well as the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples, called acorns the sacred fruits of the god of war and considered them a symbol of immortality and fertility.
• In ancient times, oak fruit was worn as an amulet that protected against drunkenness and premature aging.
• An acorn is a nut. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is eaten, although only after soaking and heat treatment.
• Few people know, but out of 10 thousand copies only one germinates. All the rest serve as food for various forest animals and birds.

Therefore, it will not be superfluous for anyone to know how to grow an oak acorn at home. The small tree can then be planted in a permanent place in a forest or park, making its contribution to the preservation of the flora of our planet.

Video on how to grow: