How to grow an oak tree from an acorn in the garden, at home

How to choose planting material?

There are two varieties of oak - summer and winter. The difference is in the timing of the swelling of the buds and the blossoming of the leaves: in a “winter” tree, all these processes occur 3-4 weeks later, and such an oak tree does not always completely shed its foliage in the fall; over time, it turns brown and can remain on the branches until next year.

It is necessary to collect seed material in early autumn. Acorns are chosen with an ideal shape, without damage, mold, or worms, and they must be well separated from the caps (it is a kind of protection, it does not carry any other functional load, so it is removed during germination).

The search for a suitable tree begins in the spring. He is monitored throughout the summer. The main species growing in Russia: petiolate (summer, English, common). The height reaches 40 m. You need to choose a plant that is healthy, powerful, with a well-developed crown and intact bark. Acorns will only become suitable for harvesting in the fall. It is advisable to look at several options, since some varieties produce seed material only once every two years.

When choosing an acorn, you should first shake it: the grain should not “rattle.” Additionally, you need to take some turf (top layer of soil) near the place where the trees grow, and fallen leaves. This will be useful to preserve the material until spring. Before germinating the seeds, when they get home, they are checked again. To do this, pour water into a container, add samples there, and leave for several minutes. All those that surfaced are not suitable for landing - they are rotten inside.

The remaining planting material is stored. To do this, place the acorns in a well-sealed plastic bag and add turf, moss, fallen leaves, wood shavings, and vermiculite. Up to 200 oak seeds can be placed in one container.

Features of planting an acorn in open ground in the fall

Young oak from an acorn can be grown in various ways. If we talk about the simplest thing, then this is planting a tree seed in open ground in a garden plot. This method is as close as possible to natural germination conditions. This is exactly how oak trees reproduce in the forest.

This tree loves sunny places, so you should choose an open clearing to plant the seed.

If you choose a place on your site that is shaded by other trees, the seedling will wither rather quickly. Taking into account the fact that as the oak grows, it reaches significant sizes, it is necessary to plant it at a distance of at least 6 m from other trees and buildings located on your site.

The optimal soil for planting oak is fertile and loose. Experts advise taking soil in the place where the mother tree grows. A couple of buckets will be enough. Soil from the forest should be added to the planting hole. Using it, the chances of successful development of the seedling will significantly increase. If the soil on your site is depleted, then the bed where you decide to plant an acorn must be carefully dug up, and leaf soil or humus must be added as additives.

Seed material must be washed in warm water. Carrying out this procedure will allow you to get rid of the following problems :

• pest larvae;
• fungal mold spores.

After this, it is necessary to make a hole in a previously prepared place in which the acorns should be laid horizontally. This arrangement is chosen so as not to confuse the top and bottom. The planting depth should be 5-6 cm. This will be quite enough to prevent the seeds from freezing in frosty weather. Next, you need to fill the hole with soil, and then water it regularly until the first frost begins. This planting method is quite simple, but its disadvantage is that not all the acorns you plant will be able to take root. Therefore, several specimens should be planted at once.

Germinating seeds before spring planting

Now successfully overwintered acorns are germinated before planting. To do this, they are again placed in a plastic bag, but with highly moistened sphagnum moss. Next, put it in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf for about 100–120 days. It is impossible to determine the exact period of germination visually, because it depends on the variety.

When stable, fairly dense roots appear, they must be carefully protected from damage. If you were unable to collect seeds to germinate them in time, you can try to find already sprouted acorns directly under the tree after the snow has begun to melt thoroughly. But it is necessary to take such a seedling before the sprout enters the ground. It is carefully removed and immediately packaged in a bag with wet moss (sawdust, leaves, turf); it absolutely does not tolerate dryness and requires increased humidity in the environment.

How to prepare the soil?

Before planting a seedling, the soil is specially prepared. Oak is an unpretentious tree, grows almost everywhere (except perhaps in the extreme northern regions, it is heat-loving). In order to grow a still weak sprout at home and later replant it in a permanent place, the soil in the pot must be very richly moistened. It is good if it is taken where the mother plant lives.

If this is not possible, take any soil from a forest park or summer cottage and add vermiculite or peat moss to it - this will help retain moisture. It must be remembered that the pot with the seedling must have holes to allow excess water to drain out, and a lower drainage layer under the soil.

When planted correctly, the sprouted acorn is deepened by about 5 cm. To begin with, ordinary plastic cups are suitable. A damp cloth is placed on the ground (it is periodically re-wetted) and covered with either glass or film. As soon as sprouts appear, the covering is removed, and the seedlings are replanted into larger pots. In the first 365 days, the future oak from an acorn grows very quickly; at the age of up to 10 years, the speed remains the same, but becomes slower; in subsequent years, the process slows down completely.

When the sprout is planted in the next pot, the soil is completely replaced, being careful not to damage the roots.

Reproduction methods, cultivation

An oak tree can propagate by cuttings or by planting acorns. Cuttings taken from adult individuals practically do not take root. For this reason, the material is taken from annual plants. You need to have time to plant them from June to July.

If you want to have a garden oak tree on your property, then the easiest way to grow it is from an acorn. The fruits are collected from September to October. Acorns must be planted immediately after harvesting, otherwise they will dry out and will not be able to take root.

If autumn turns out to be hot, then the fruits should be watered. To protect against rodents, the beds are covered with spruce branches. To properly plant acorns, you must follow all recommendations regarding this process.

Identification of an oak tree for a permanent place

At a certain stage, a strengthened sprout must be planted in a permanent place in the ground in a sufficiently spacious area. The readiness of a seedling for transplantation is determined by the following criteria:

1. Has a height of 15 cm, its height in relation to the pot is 100%.
2. In a branched root system, the central core is clearly visible; it should be dense, healthy, and white.
3. The future tree has leaves.

Oak should be planted only at an early age and immediately in a permanent place. In the future, it will be impossible to replant it, since the root system grows very quickly both horizontally and vertically deep into the ground. There should be no buildings nearby - a powerful century-old plant is quite capable of damaging the foundation of almost any building.

Oak is a member of the beech family. He absolutely cannot stand darkness. In the shade of other mature trees, it will take a long time to take root, grow slowly and may even die.

4 nuances of planting a tree

In order to properly plant an oak seedling, you must follow certain rules:

1. Choose a place that is as open as possible.
2. It should be west, southwest, south - there is the most sunlight and warmth.
3. Over the years, the tree will grow, the crown will increase, creating shaded areas, so if the shade is inappropriate in a given place, you will have to choose another one.
4. The oak has an extensive root system; it is not located near communications, main paths, or buildings with foundations.

At the initial stage, cultivation is extremely slow, because in the first 730 days the roots strengthen and grow. Therefore, it is very important not to damage the central rod when planting. And only after 2-3 years the ground part will begin to actively grow.

Algorithm for placing an oak seedling

When planning to plant more than one tree, find their location in advance. This could be the edge of a forest, a future oak grove or an alley. If the site allows, a mixed park area is created. Maple, rose hips, linden, and ash get along well with oak. But conifers will oppress young seedlings. If the soil is poor in nitrogen, additional lupins are placed around. To ensure that the procedure follows all the rules, the following algorithm of actions is observed:

1. The selected area is cleared of tall grass. The circumference of the site must be at least 15 m - with a margin for the future.
2. While the seedling is small, 1.5 m will be enough for it. The soil is dug up and thoroughly loosened, making it homogeneous and maximally enriched with oxygen.
3. The hole for planting should be slightly larger than the root system of the seedling, and most importantly, the central stem. After the hole is ready, water it generously.
4. The oak sprout is taken out of the pot directly with the earth ball, transferred to the hole, covered with earth and lightly compacted.
5. The next stage is abundant watering. Now there is no need to be afraid to flood the plant; all excess water will go into the soil.
6. A dense layer of mulch is poured around a 30 cm circle around the seedling - it will prevent the soil from drying out and becoming overgrown with unnecessary, nutrient-robbing weeds.

For greater reliability, some gardeners recommend planting several seedlings nearby. If one of them does not take root, the second will certainly remain viable.

Rules for preparing a planting pit for better growth of seedlings

Every gardener asks the question: how to replant an oak tree to speed up growth and get a strong tree? A properly selected location and a fertilized planting pit play an essential role in obtaining a good result.

The hole preparation process occurs in the following sequence:

• We mark the area meter by meter and dig a hole 80 cm deep.
• We remove the top fertile layer of soil and save it.
• We throw out the soil located deeper than 30 cm.
• We fill the bottom of the planting hole with crushed stone or pebbles to a depth of 15-20 centimeters.
• Preparing a nutrient substrate for the seedling. Mix the deposited layer of humus with humus. It is enough to add 2 buckets. Then mix the contents with a kilogram of ash. To protect against pests, add 1.5 kg of lime to the mixture. We add mineral fertilizers according to the instructions on the packages. Divide the resulting composition into 2 equal parts.
• Fill the hole with 1/2 part of the mixture.
• We install the seedling, distribute the roots of the plant, and fill it with the remaining nutrient substrate. The root collar should protrude about 3 cm from the soil.
• The soil is compacted so that there are no air pockets left.
• Gradually pour out 10 liters of settled water. Excess liquid will drain through the crushed stone drainage system.
• We mulch the space around the tree with peat and wood chips.

How fast does oak tree grow? The first few years the shoot grows quickly, forms branches and becomes covered with leaves. Then growth slows down. It takes 30-50 years for a tree to fully form.

Caring for seedlings - what needs to be done?

A transplanted young oak tree needs care. At the initial stage, it must be protected from animals and rodents. To do this, install a mesh fence around the plant. If there are deer on the territory, the fence is made high enough, up to 2.5–3 m, so that they do not eat the crown. May beetles and aphids are destroyed with pesticides.

The central root rod is initially quite long, over time it will grow further, and then the tree will independently obtain moisture for itself. But while the seedling is small, it needs regular watering. At different times, the amount of water required is different: in summer - more, in winter and autumn - much less.

Experienced gardeners prefer to use drip irrigation, whereby moisture is supplied directly to the roots. 30 liters will be enough for 2 weeks. But such watering is used only in the first years of growth. Further, as the tree strengthens, it begins to gain independence and needs less and less care. Additional care includes the following:

1. In dry seasons (spring/summer), it is worthwhile to carry out additional watering at the rate of a bucket of water (20 l) per square meter. m.
2. Feeding must be done. They are made twice: in early spring, 1 kg of mullein is diluted in 10 liters of water + 10 grams. urea + 20 gr. ammonium nitrate. This fertilizer is poured not directly onto the roots, but into the root circle. In September - 20 gr. nitrophoska. This is quite enough.
3. During the entire period (except in winter), the soil is loosened, going 25 cm from the surface, and weeds and grass are removed.
4. Another important element of caring for oak trees is the formation and pruning of the crown. Haircuts occur either in early spring or not in late autumn (in “Indian summer”). Remove dried branches and clear away unnecessary shoots. They begin to form the crown in the autumn: 2-3 central branches are removed to the trunk, the side ones are also shortened. The sections are healed with garden varnish or natural-based paint. As a result, in the spring the plant will be able to “boast” a beautiful, neat, spherical crown.
5. An oak can grow up to 40 m, but there are giants up to 65 m. To stop the growth and create a beautiful grove or alley with identical plants, cut off the apical bud, pinching the shoot located in the center.
6. If a red species was planted, additionally remove side shoots 6 cm in diameter.

Such a mighty tree cannot grow quickly. The first acorns will appear no earlier than 20 years after the seedling is planted in its permanent “place of residence.”

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Seedling

It is necessary to control the development of the seedling. Experts have different recommendations for what to do next - some transplant the seedlings immediately to their garden plot after 2-3 weeks of germination in a glass. The latter recommend gradually increasing the time the seedling spends outside before planting it in the open ground.

Sometimes it is recommended to transplant seedlings into a larger container so that they can grow even more, and only then begin to plant them in the ground. Although there is no generally accepted concept of when a plant can be transferred to a personal plot, there are general signs indicating that the seedlings are ready for planting.

The main features are as follows:

• plant height – approximately 12-17 cm with small leaves;
• healthy white root system;
• the seedling has significantly outgrown the pot;
• good development of the main root;
• plant age – more than 2 weeks.

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.