letemgrow
PMA Member
Not sure Phil but plenty chilly? I wouldn't think a few degrees would matter much but perhaps?
Almost all of mine end up like that but they all grew so never really worried about it.
Never had any white oak acorns grow like that in my fridge
They are lucky to put on 2 inches of taproot by the time I pull them out in springtime....interesting.
So I pulled them out last night after family went up to bed. Standing there in the kitchen with my hands in ziploc bags of potting soil getting fired up because at least a couple acorns from each bag had a small root poking out or the shell had cracked open and was looking healthy!! This will be added to the list that my wife just shakes her head and walks away, just like shed antlers. Guess I will have to go ahead and place order for the rootmaker pots! Silly addictions!!
Do you guys pot all of them or just the ones that are showing changes?
Do you guys pot all of them or just the ones that are showing changes?
letemgrow
PMA Member
I pot the ones that have germinated, then leave the rest out of the fridge in damp peat when its time to plant and check them every few days and pot as they germinate till I have enough, then the rest go out to the squirrels.
dbltree
Super Moderator
I take the ones that haven't germinated and put them in a tray of soil and then move them to pots as they germinate. If they fail they eventually end up like Phils but it's surprising because some take 2 weeks or more to "wake up"
if you have gobs of acorns I wouldn't mess with them but when I have to pay for some I give them every opportunity...
if you have gobs of acorns I wouldn't mess with them but when I have to pay for some I give them every opportunity...
Was reading over things again and my wife is looking over my shoulder exclaims "he has the same countertop as us!" Dbltree, our wives apparently have similar tastes!! Appreciate the information fellas, and hope to contribute pictures as well. I can say that mold doesn't hurt too much as one acorn had white fuzz growing and it was sprouting a root. I plan to pot pretty much all of my acorns as I didn't collect all that many for my first attempt.
OHIOshedder
New Member
This project has officially gotten out of control. Just got home from a week vacation and my potted sawtooth, english, gambel, and chestnut oaks that I refrigerated for a month or 2 then potted indoors are now sprouting everywhere. Everything that has not sprouted above ground level is getting removed from its pot and put back in the fridge for another 2 months. Some of the ones I just pulled have taproots that are nearly 8"-9" long....
While in southern FL this past week there were tons of white oak acorns everywhere. I'm pretty sure they are live oak and I picked up a bag full. I'm sure that oaks that grow in sandy soil in tropical southern climate will do well in my heavy clay soil of the frozen north.;-).......
While in southern FL this past week there were tons of white oak acorns everywhere. I'm pretty sure they are live oak and I picked up a bag full. I'm sure that oaks that grow in sandy soil in tropical southern climate will do well in my heavy clay soil of the frozen north.;-).......
dark_viper42
New Member
What do you guys do as far as watering after you get them planted in the rootmakers?
Do you water before they even come up or do you wait? Approx how much water?
108 acorns went into rootmakers this weekend at my place.
90 DCO and 18 sawtooth oak
*I should have ordered more rootmakers!!!
Do you water before they even come up or do you wait? Approx how much water?
108 acorns went into rootmakers this weekend at my place.
90 DCO and 18 sawtooth oak
*I should have ordered more rootmakers!!!
OHIOshedder
New Member
I went to the grocery store and bought the largest (16 oz) coffee cups they had - got packs of 24 cups for $1/each. I packed each cup with Miracle Grow potting soil and poked a hole in the bottom for drainage. Placed the cups in a tray, moistened the soil and pushed 1 acorn into the soil in each cup. I put a layer of plastic wrap across the top of the cups to minimize drying and probably give them a small shot of water about once every 10 days or so if the soil looks like its starting to dry. Soil has stayed pretty moist that way and I probably don't need to water them every 15 days or so.
dark_viper42
New Member
I keep the potting soil moist but not to wet even before germination although most will have already germinated in the fridge. Either way dry soil is not good!
I only planted acorns that had germinated while in my fridge. The ones that haven't are still in there until I can work them into the rootmakers if some don't come up or die off.
I'm just concerned about them getting dry but I don't want to over water them.
letemgrow
PMA Member
The soil/potting mix should be moist, but not completely saturated. What I like to do is keep a one rootmaker with just soil so it can be my test dummy. I check it every day or two and see how much moisture is in it, then I know when I need to water the seedlings. As the seedlings fill up the rootmaker cell tho, that system no longer applies since they will suck up the moisture far faster than an empty cell with only potting soil.
Obviously hotter temps will increase watering, if its cool out, say highs of 60 as opposed to 80 that makes a big difference in the little cells.
dbltree
Super Moderator
Phil, do you buy and plant blight resistant chestnuts the same way you are doing your acorns? If so, where do you buy them? I have a small case of chestnut fever right now...
I have bought some from Oikos Tree Crops but Phil is the expert on chestnuts so I'm curious about this question myself?
The ones I planted last year did awesome!! :way:
letemgrow
PMA Member
Phil, do you buy and plant blight resistant chestnuts the same way you are doing your acorns? If so, where do you buy them? I have a small case of chestnut fever right now...
I plant the 100% pure American Chestnuts the same way as the acorns, they get tubed, sprayed and planted an inch deep or so in the fall. A select few will be blight resistant, but most will not.
This is a american chestnut this past summer planted as a seed the fall of 09, it grew about 3 feet in one season.
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letemgrow
PMA Member
The last couple of years I have had about 50% germination on the chestnut seeds....figure the intense and relentless rains had something to do with that tho and it would have been better otherwise.
I donate 20 bucks to The American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation and request 10 seednuts for the donation, they usually arrive in October. Here is their website and if you go with the pure Americans, they will do the best wherever you have Northern Red Oaks growing (north or east facing coves that are well drained and mildly acidic).
http://www.accf-online.org/seednuts.htm
I donate 20 bucks to The American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation and request 10 seednuts for the donation, they usually arrive in October. Here is their website and if you go with the pure Americans, they will do the best wherever you have Northern Red Oaks growing (north or east facing coves that are well drained and mildly acidic).
http://www.accf-online.org/seednuts.htm
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letemgrow
PMA Member
With the ACCF, I can only plant 100% pure American chestnuts since they are breeding for resistance and keeping only american genes in the mix....so I cannot plant any hybrids with them.
I have never seen a hardwood grow like an American Chestnut, they can keep up with any junk tree out there. :way:
Here is a link to their breeding strategy:
http://www.accf-online.org/accf1.htm
Here is the Nathan Pease Tree, it showed full resistance to the blight and was 100% pure American:
http://www.accf-online.org/nathanblightold
letemgrow
PMA Member
Forgot to add this initial photo of an American Chestnut just coming up from seed. I like to use shorter tubes to start with using seeds and then switch over to larger tubes or fencing after I see they have germinated. I have found that rodents really avoid open ground AND shorter tubes so they apparently don't feel that they have any overhead cover.
I went ahead and got 25 allegheny chinquapin seedlings from Reeseville Ridge (WI) for a buck a pop. It will be interesting to see how well they do. Also, some were planted as sprouted seeds next to the seedlings. Nothing tastes sweeter than a chinquapin so they should be a stellar draw if they do well in my area. Now if I could only find my camera, I would have some pics, it is MIA and quite possibly a casualty out on the farm somewhere from all the planting.
Just wondering if you were happy with the chinquapin seedlings from Reeseville Ridge?