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| I've been looking around at Oikos' website. They have some interesting hybrid oaks.
I esp. like Bebb and the Burenglish, I've always felt the "white" oaks in general are more appealing overall, especially White and Bur, since they have this combination of a massive, commanding presence, but a "soft" appearance at the same time. What are some of your experiences on the hybrid oaks? What would grow well in a heavy clay, pH of 7.0, zone 5b in Ohio? Are there any with a particularly fast growth rate or that manage good fall color? The only one I see that might have decent color is the Bebb's since it has a Q. alba parent. What are some others out there that maybe Oikos doesn't offer, but another company might sell? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude (My Page) on Tue, Nov 20, 12 at 14:03
| The fastest growing oak that oikos sells is the chestnut leaf oak. The fastest hybrid is the Procera oak. The reason why hybrids tend to grow fast is because they have hybrid vigor. An increase in genetic diversity causes this to happen. However, it can also result in serility. Oaks can only hybridize within members of their own family an example would be white oaks (bur oak, english oak, chestnut oak, white oak, post oak, and swamp white oaks). Any two of these species can create a hybrid. Most hybrids are rare in nature and are usually man made. |
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| Sarah, I've grown a number of OIKOS' F2 hybrids - mostly bur oak crosses, but some others as well. All have grown well, but I was pretty much unimpressed with the burenglish seedlings(powdery mildew was a major problem - plus, the Q.robur parent must have been a fastigiate type - not what I needed in those spots), and have grafted all but one of the dozen or so of them over to something else. They work OK as rootstocks, but some are bad about suckering from the root crown. The only hybrid in the white oak group that I've grown that exhibited any significant fall color is a Compton(lyrataXvirginiana) oak seedling; good red fall color some years, others, not so much. Hard to beat Bebbs or Schuettes oaks for growth rate and nice form. Hybrid oaks are becoming more readily available in the nursery trade; OIKOS is selling what are essentially open-pollenated seedlings of F1 hybrids - the prices are reasonable, and most grow into nice trees. Other, more 'upscale' nurseries I've seen are selling grafted selections - and are pricier. |
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| I'm disappointed in your assessment of the Burenglish from OIKOS. Is the Bebb's also faster-growing? OIKOS says 2ft/yr, which isn't bad by Oak standards. Also, as far as my neutral soil, are there any to avoid? I know Pin Oaks are iffy here. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Nov 20, 12 at 17:31
| In my part of the world, nearly every bur oak is actually a bur/swamp white hybrid. Awesome trees-these are naturally occurring. I wouldn't say they have brilliant fall color but they do have great winter color! The tawny orangish tan looks great against the snow and other trees in their vicinity, conifers in particular. BTW, is this hybrid the one called Schuettes? +oM |
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| Yes, I think that is the Schuette's, but OIKOS also has a "Schubur" which must be a Schuette's crossed back with a straight Bur. |
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| As +oM said, "hybrid oaks" are VERY common in nature. In fact, they are most often the norm except in areas where they are geographically isolated from other members of their section. |
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| Sarah, my Schuette's oak from OIKOS is hard to tell from a straight swamp white oak. I think it is "mostly" S W oak. It was chosen from a specimen w/fast growth & early/heavy acorn production -- a wild specimen that was prb'ly a S W x Bur oak backcrossed again to SW oak hybrid. So Schubar oak is a Schuette's backcrossed again w/Burr, as you say. Complicated, eh? Bottom line is these hybrids are vigorous and grow in anything from wet clay to dry sand. Acorns will appear in just a few yrs from planting. |
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| Anyone growing/seen Quercus x ludoviciana (Loiusiana Oak)? a cross of q. pagoda with willow and supposed to be very vigorous, long lived, and very large with age. |
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| Sarah, Everything I've heard says the hybrid oaks have almost no appreciable fall color. You might be right in that occasionally a Bebb F2 (seedgrown from "original" cross parent tree) might pop up with the red color from the Q. alba parent. Seems though that burs almost never have decent color and that seems to translate to most Bebb's oaks I've seen. That said, there is one Bur Oak that is down the road from my parents house in London, OH that turns red in fall. I'm not 100% convinced it might not be a natural hybrid (a Bebb's in other words) itself. |
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