trees do not need.. nor favor.. super yummy potting media ... and in fact.. you will probably rot the roots off due to too much water ....

if you have the acorns right now ... i would put them .. say half of them.. in the 15 gallon pot ... some very coarse media.... bagged stuff cut in half with bark chips [dont know if you can find them this time of year .. ... good luck with that] ....plant them like your inner squirrel ... and inch deep or so

and put them in the cold garage ... pole barn.. or just outside on the north side of the house.. protect from tree rats with hardware cloth ...

and let them naturally germinate.. come spring ...

its easy .. if you let ma nature take care of it ...

ken

ps: you can not change the genetics of a tree ... it will grow.. as fast as it will grow.. no 'juicing' in trees ... if i needed a 4 foot tree... i would grow it in mother earth out back.. and move it up front when 4 to 5 feet tall ... you will simply have too many problems dealing with it.. in a pot for 5 to 7 years ... put simply.. grow the roots.. and the tree will follow .... and then cut them all off.. when you move it.. lol ...

If its final location is convenient (for watering, inspection, etc), it would be best to plant the acorn there to start with. Doing so would optimize the potential for long-term success and likely minimize required maintenance and hassle. If the location is hazardous (predation, trampling, etc), you'll want to protect your small tree with stakes, a cage, or whatever you think is required.

Ken,
I know a few tree growers and they "juice" trees all the time. They are trying to push, push, push them to size up sooner for "harvest". Some have a lot of fertilizer that they cycle thru the watering system. Whatever it takes to fool the tree into thinking the soil is better than it really is.

I've found that the height needed before street trees stop being trampled, car doored, hit by bicyclists, attacked by bums or drunken frat boys, etc. is about six feet tall. I've gotten trees with tap roots (English oak, Kentucky coffeetree) that tall and transplanted out to the street using RootMaker mesh bags. Some oaks didn't do great in the RootMaker bags (bur oak, sawtooth oak) although they did better in the bags vs. regular pots. Unless you can find some shredded pine bark the closest thing I've found to the potting medium those potted trees are sold in is Scotts Organic Potting Mix. Even at six feet I still drive stakes next to the street trees to prevent something from accidentally hitting the tree.

Not sure how many trees you are looking to start, but you can cheat a little bit if you start the acorns indoors in the late winter and bring them indoors in the fall to add a couple months to the growing season on both ends. I did this very successfully with paw paw seeds by starting them in early February indoors, and in the fall keeping them indoors until November. Had I planted the seeds outside, they would not germinate until May or June, and would lose their leaves in October. The trees I started this way were way ahead of those started in the ground.

Ken's statement is a bit vague, but I think I disagree. Of course you can't change the genetics of the tree, but you can give it optimal growing conditions to allow the tree to approach its genetic limits - trees will not grow at identical rates regardless of growing conditions. If you have hard clay soil for example, I guarantee that an acorn planted in the right container with the right potting media with the right feeding will outgrow an acorn planted directly in the ground, at least until it outgrows the container, which does not take long. If you leave it in the container too long, you'll have root issues that will need to be addressed. No doubt that if you grow them in a 15 gallon pot until they are 5 feet tall, they will be quite root bound.

If I were doing this, I would start them in containers, then plant them in the ground when they are a year old. At this point, you may have a couple young circling roots, but they will not yet be woody, and so will be easy to straighten, so you can keep the entire root system intact.

As Ken mentioned, don't use typical potting soil, use something coarse, based on pine bark. Go to the containers forum and read about the 5-1-1 mix, which is great for growing trees.

Alex

Hi slim. I think I saw at least one Post Oak tree several years ago by the boat ramp/marina/store. I remember I wanted to get acorns but it wasn't doing acorns right then. Anyway, it was at Lake Jacomo in Independence, Missouri (aka Fleming Park), I believe it's a state park, (boat rentals, park benches and everything..lol). It's in the White Oak family so it doesn't need stratification, it roots shortly after they fall off the tree. I'm not so sure if an acorn shipper would tell you that or even know that. Also, Lake Jacomo is in the Kansas City, Mo. metro area.

Yeah, I'd put more trust in nature before I'd subscribe to a method so they might fly off the shelves and maybe die later.

http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2542/NREM-5031web.pdf (It'll open in a new browser window, or "tab").

Trying my hand at that new edit function, it's the first time I've used it here. I just wanted to make my in-post link clickable with some html I keep on hand.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_stellata

This post was edited by shortleaf2002 on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 0:40

In my experience which is just with a couple oaks, ( Burr and English) direct sowing where the tree is to grow is the best thing I know of. Those 2 trees are growing great, the Burr did about 4-5 ft in the 2 years from acorn sowing, usually after a transplant, the first year is about 5 inches max height growth, vs. 2-3 ft from acorn, no watering needed in a dry spell. The tree will be stalled for a year or 2 to replace the root mass, to resume the maximum growth in a potted tree. I have dug up trees about 1-2 ft tall in the past, and the oaks have such deep roots, I swear they went to China. I'm talking a 1 foot tall red oak Q. Rubra, with a root system that I never did find the end of, and I THINK the red oaks don't have as deep a taproot as a White oak family oak. You can get an oak in a pot and it will transplant fine etc. but, if you've got the acorn, you know where you want the tree, you are prepared to protect it from critters til spring, it just makes sense to direct sow, maybe refridgerate a spare acorn or 2. I guess if your in a critter riddled area, you've got no choice but to pot, but if you can direct sow, that is the best in my opinion. And I have a limited amount of experience, I would say about 20 years since I planted my first oak. The first oak I planted is about 40+ ft tall, and is putting out acorns, it is a Q. Rubra, or Q. Velutina, likely Velutina, no real fall color. I will add that Sycamores can lose a ton of roots and bounce back like nobody's business. Poaky1 Oh, I have a Q. Alba from an acorn but it in a lot of shade so only did a foot from acorn, but I'm talking nearly full shade, the tree that shades it is on it's way out likely within 10 years, and the Q. Alba can hang in there in shade til this other tree croaks. But of course all this I said is for my yard, and YMMV. Poaky1

I have dug up first year seedlings from under parent trees. They were mowed down by goats right after transplant, but have kept their leaves all winter, and appear to be recovering; adding more girth than height with just one shoot of growth. I have also root pruned some in about 12" tall containers that seem to be developing quite the root system. Time will tell!!!

Wonder how slim fared... despite claims to the contrary, many oaks are pretty fast-growing... but post oak... slower than any I can think of, other than, perhaps, blackjack.

Post Oaks are not in the least fast growers. They are probably on the list of the top 5 slowest growing oaks in america (US). Unless you plan on growing some for the next generation or two, I would plant some other kind of oak.

I just lost a massive post oak a few weeks ago from a storm. Roots and all. Not sure of the age, but when I do finally cut it up I will know how old it was. I'm betting its 150 years+. Left a huge hole in the canopy. Not a sign of rotting. Its a shame.

Good luck with what ever you plant. No babying.

Worm castings

Direct planting - every transplant or re-potting is a year lost. A tree grown with no checks will make its most vigorous growth in its first decade - there is nothing which makes a tree grow faster - just sturdier, bushier, greener...but NOT faster. Every plant is dependent on the law of limiting factors - that is, growth will be dependent on the amount and quality of nutrients, sunlight, water, carbon dioxide etc etc...and although you can bump up the fertiliser, any plant will only use an amount predicated on every other growth variable...so you could feed it till the cows come home - if the sunlight hours are not long enough...or water is lacking, it will be determined by the most limited of all growth requirements

I would put them in the place you want them to grow soon, and nestle the taproot in the soil trying to not put it too deep or too shallow. Hopefully, they haven't all been ruined by the sudden warmth making them come out of dormancy. The ones with green growth are ruined. Hope you can save a couple. you CAN pot but they are thrown off of the normal time to grow cause they are warmed from in the house. If you have a couple just sending out a taproot plant the acorn in the ground where you want it. In a pot the taproot will encircle and kill the tree, unless you use Rootmaker pots etc. My opinion.