How to Grow an Oak Tree from an Acorn

How to Grow an Oak Tree from an Acorn

Growing your own oak trees from acorns is easy and is a
great way to produce strong, healthy specimens to add back
into your garden. It also provides children with a great
opportunity to learn about a tree's life cycle, and the role
that they can play in enabling this. This activity is an
ideal one to begin in the early fall (autumn).

!! Steps !!

Collect green acorns in early fall. Choose ones that are free of
worms, holes, and fungus.

* Get the kids to help - it's a fun exercise for them! Put
the green acorns in a bucket of water for a couple minutes.
Discard any ones that float.

Take out the remaining acorns. Place them in a large zipper bag with
damp sawdust; you should be able to fit up to 250 acorns in these
bags. Put them in the refrigerator for a month or longer, as needed
to germinate the new oak.

Keep an eye on their growth. The root end will begin to crack
through around early December (late fall, early winter). Once the
root has cracked through, the acorn is ready to be planted.

Plant each acorn in 2 inch (5cm) diameter pot deep enough so the
tap root can grow. Place the acorn about 2-4 inches (5cm - 10cm)
below the surface with the root facing down. Water regularly.

This young oak is nestled in snugly amid some sphagnum moss If
preferred, just bury the root, and gently tuck the acorn to one side
on top of suitable rich, soft soil. This will only work if the tap
root is already well established, long, and has detached adequately
from the acorn.

After the oak has grown about a foot (30cm), which
usually takes about one year, it can be planted into
the ground. In the meantime, continue to care for it
in its potted environment.

* Alternatively, the acorns can be planted directly into the ground
by clearing a 2x2 foot (61cm x 61cm) area and placing two acorns
into that space, with one or two inches (2.5cm - 5cm) of soil on
top.

Imagine! To transplant the oak seedlings into the ground from a
pot, clear a three-foot (91 cm) circle of all vegetation.

* In the middle, dig a hole about a foot or two deep (61cm-91cm) and
a foot (30cm) wide.

* Place the oak seedling into the hole, sloping the soil away from
the seedling so that the water does not sit at the trunk of the
tree. Oaks do not like water sitting on their trunks.

* Next, pack down the earth and water the seedling. Watch it grow
over the years!

!! Tips !!

* Place a stake into the ground with a screen around the seedling so
that animals are not able to eat it.

* Even small oak trees lose their leaves in the fall (autumn), so
don't be discouraged if all the leaves turn brown or fall off.
Just wait for spring.

!! Things You'll Need !!

* Acorns (green)

* Plastic bag

* Refrigerator

* Sawdust

* Pot for growing

* Suitable soil

* Watering can

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Plant an Avocado Tree

* How to Grow a Tomato Plant

* How to Grow Herb Gardens from Seed

* How to Grow Golden Barrel Cactus

* How to Care for Orchids

* How to Care for a Bromeliad

* How to Grow Prickly Pears

!! Sources And Citations !!

* http://www.elkhornslough.org/andrewway/how_to_plant.htm –
research source

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