2nd example tree...

By the way, each tree is about 3 ft tall.

This post was edited by JD_MN on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 16:41

super.. you win... 8 out of ten isnt bad ....

with 30 years of experience... i would be very happy with that rate ...

and ... well.. they are oak ...

they will look like this for another year or two .. and then.. slowly.. start taking off ...

you might want to figure out.. how to protect them in snow cover... i was always afraid of stepping on them .... perhaps a nice stake of some kind... simply put on say.. the north side.. so when you walk by.. you know where the tree is supposed to be... not that you need to tie it to the stake of anything.. just a location marker ...

ALL the important growth.. is underground .... and until it grows a root mass.. you arent going to see much above ...

growing trees.. has little to do with instant gratification .. lol.;. perhaps the understatement of the year... lol

water deep into fall ... insuring a nice moist soil ... too many peeps put away the hose at the first frost in mid oct.. and then ignore them until ground freeze in jan ....

they wont need a lot of water in nov... just make sure it isnt drought... with cold days.. and colder nights.. moisture is not going to be sucked out... so you wont need a lot ... and dont freeze them into an ice cube ...

congrats and good luck

ken

I hear ya Ken... I can't wait for them to be 5 ft tall next summer!!

Ok I'm completely kidding. Good to know that there may not be much growth in the next year or so. At least I won't start freaking out thinking I bought dwarf northern red oaks. Lol.

I'll keep telling those who question my idea to plant these (read wife) to just be patient and we will see rewards... Someday.

....or, you could tell her that you planted them and now it's her turn. She could weed them (to twice the diameter they are currently, or were at one time, weeded) and apply mulch (thicker along the outside / thinner nearer the trunk, with non or very little actually touching the tree).

Yep... I get it. I may need to weed and expand the mulch bed a bit before next summer's growing season. I check on them often and pull back the mulch that touches the tree.

I am watering them during hot/dry spells (like now) but let nature care for them whenever possible - i.e. when enough rain I leave them alone.

Thanks for the ideas to help these babies along.

I would loosely put some window screen around the trunks up to the first branch to keep the critters away. If you have a rabbit problem you can put a big circle of 3' high chicken wire around each one.

I may have to do something like that... And soon. I noticed the other day that one of them (not pictured) was chewed down a bit by something - neighbor kids??? Kidding. Could have been a deer or bigger rabbit.

Interesting that the one that was gnawed down to about a foot height already has spurred some new leaves in the remaining trunk section. They are trying their best to survive!!