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hybrid oaks

Hardwood11

Hardwood11

It is going to be a good fall!
I ordered some hybrid oaks this spring. My plan is to continue to order more every year, based on which varieties work and grow well, etc... Anyone have some experience planting hybrid oaks? Growth rates, the best varieties, and advice would help...thanks

I ordered a dozen from Morse Nursery. Would like to try other nurseries and then compare how they do in 5-10 years.
 
Oikos Tree Crops has the best variety of hybrid oaks. I cannot say where I see the hybrid oaks grow any faster than my other oaks. There are a variety of factors that can influence that tho. Wrong planting site, hardiness in my zone etc.

Oikos sells seeds in the fall from most of their hybrid oaks and I think that would be the cheapest way to plant several kinds and see which ones do the best for ya. I actually prefer the shotgun approach...plant several kinds of oaks on the same site and see which ones do the best and favor those.
 
Well, hopefully they will grow faster and produce acorns, we will see. I like the Swamp bur oak variety and I am really hoping that will work here in MN, because as far as I know very few landowners are planting them in my county and the deer and turkey love that type of acorn (I guess)?
 
letemgrow--have you planted the swamp/bur hybrids from Kelly Tree Farm, I think I will order some, any experience/results?
 
Hardwood11 said:
letemgrow--have you planted the swamp/bur hybrids from Kelly Tree Farm, I think I will order some, any experience/results?
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They are on my list, but I have not ordered from them yet. Probably order some silky dogwoods and downy serviceberry to go with the hybrids when I do order since they have a $75 minimum order. :way:
 
Well I will give them a try, reasonably priced and the owner said they grow fast...has anyone else on this site planted any?
 
All I've planted is Dwarf Chinkapins, regular Chinkapins and every other oak native to IA as far as oaks go. Really happy with Dwarf Chinkapins so far. Seem to grow great and good success rate. I also plant tons of other types of stuff BUT for oaks just what i have above. Keep posted on how your swamp/burrs go!
 
Dwarf Chinkapins are a must IMO. They stay shrubby and produce loads of acorns on very small trees so they provide acorns, cover and browse all in one plant. I have picked some acorns from DCO trees on a MDC conservation area and the grove was littered with deer beds and ever acorn that hit the ground was gone. They are highly recommended by my observations!!!
 
chinkapin oaks

Sligh/Letemgrow: I would love to plant chinkapins or dwarf chinkapins in Minnesota, but I don't think they will make it here. Some websites say zone 4, but others say they are only found in Houston County which is far SE Minnesota.

Are they similar to a chestnut oak? I guess I could plant them and see, but I would be suprised if they make it up here.
 
I suppose all you could do is try them obviously. Maybe go light on how many you order in case they don't. Every planting of anything- a certain % of trees don't make it of course. Maybe order say 20 trees and baby them.
*I think with your location, a call to these nurseries that sell them would be worth while to get their opinion.
 
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I have been planting hybrids for over 12 years now and some of them started producing at 10 years of age which is outstanding compared to normal production at 20-25 years.

The Swamp White Oak hybrids have proven to be gfast growing early producers in my area with Schuettes Oak at the top of the list.

Keep in mind that my trees were completely neglected for years and bucks have tried their best to kill each and every one of them, so if you protect them and use herbicides growth rates will be awesome!

I have planted a bunch of DCO's and the seedlings from Oikos come from Nebraska which is hardly considered "warm", the only problem with DCO's however is that they drop very early rather then in hunting season.

I love diversity so like apples, I want acorns dropping from early to late so that deer want to stay on my property not just "visit", so planting variety is important.

I would strongly consider taking letemgrow's advice and starting some acorns in Rootmakers if you want the ultimate fastest growing trees.

The root pruned seedlings will have a tremendous root system that will ensure rapid growth that will exceed that of normally grown trees.

Combine rootmaker grown seedlings with tree tubes/fencing and herbicide to control weeds and occasional fertilizer and you'll have trees producing in 7 years or less!

Not feasble on thousands of trees but...a dozen trees producing sweet low tannin acorns will be priceless comapred to acres of trees that won't drop an acorn for another 15 years.......;)
 
Dbltree: I appreciate the advice, can you post a picture or two of the swamp white oak hybrid. Are they a different variety than the Schuette's oak?

I think the bur swamp oak hybrid would do well on my property in MN, and I will certainly plant some on my land in Iowa as well.

Do you think they will survive on fairly heavy bottom soil in southern Iowa---soil types Kennebec silt loam (212) or Nodaway silt loam (220)??

Also, the dwarf chinkapins are a for sure in Iowa, and I will try them in MN and watch the results.
 
I have nodaway silt on my creek bottom too and the swamp white and swamp whitexbur oak (schuttes oak) do very well there. Other things I have growing well there are silky dogwoods, black walnut, black oak, shumard oak, cherry bark oak, elderberry, eastern wahoo and downy serviceberry. Those are trees I know of for sure since they are doing well there.

The dwarf chinkapin oak acorns I picked up last fall started ripening around sept 10th and there were still about half the trees with acorns on them then. Perfect for the Sept 15th opener in MO!! :D
 
Hardwood11 said:
Dbltree: I appreciate the advice, can you post a picture or two of the swamp white oak hybrid. Are they a different variety than the Schuette's oak?

I think the bur swamp oak hybrid would do well on my property in MN, and I will certainly plant some on my land in Iowa as well.

Do you think they will survive on fairly heavy bottom soil in southern Iowa---soil types Kennebec silt loam (212) or Nodaway silt loam (220)??

Also, the dwarf chinkapins are a for sure in Iowa, and I will try them in MN and watch the results.
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The Schuette's oak is a swamp white oak hybrid and here's pics of some of mine with acorns at 10 years old.

Hybridoakacorns.jpg


The scaley bark is a give away to the swamp what oak parentage
HybridOakbark.jpg


Your soils should be well suited for them! :)
http://www.iowawhitetail.com/dbltree/Tree Planting/HybridOakbark.jpg
 
Wow, that fires up now to plant more hybrids! Nice sized acorns as well... 10 years that is amazing.
 
letemgrow said:
Make sure to plant several different types you want and see what takes off the best. :way:
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I got kind of addicted to planting all the different hybrids but I regret not keeping better track of which are which. I planted nearly all of them at one time but most of them I cannot tell you the name of.

The burxgambel and burxenglish are marked and the ones I started from acorns will be marked...still trying to figure out how to mark them in a way that will last 10 years??

here are some of the attributes of hybrids at Oikos Tree crops

Useful for Timber, Acorn Production and Ornamental Value. The tendency of oaks to cross-pollinate with one another creates hybrids. Within North American oaks alone, it’s estimated there are at least 200 hybrids found wild.

Hybrid oaks are usually fertile and produce progeny that can show wide variation and many similarities of both parents. For the last 30 years, Oikos Tree Crops has maintained a hybrid oak planting for the purpose of producing the most vigorous oak hybrid seedlings.

What started as a simple horticultural curiosity has resulted in some distinct refinements in using hybrid offspring. The results have been dramatic. Here are a few of the salient points of the hybrid oak crowd: Faster growth: The right hybrid in the right soil can exhibit two to three times the growth rate of pure species.

Precocity: Acorns will begin bearing in 4-8 years from seedling compared to 15-30 years in pure species. Ecological adaptability: Adaptable to different soil types and climates exhibiting greater vigor even if the conditions are not optimum.

Heavy Acorn Production: Some selections produce a spur type fruiting or dense branching which in turn greatly increases the yields per individual tree. All of these provide a wide variation of different types useful for a wide variety of combinations and uses. What more could you ask for in an oak?
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