Help with my Chestnut Oak seedlings..

[thatguy]

Last fall just for $h!+z and giggles I planted about two dozen chestnut oak acorns in my mulched flower beds.. I was hoping they would sprout (??), but was prepared for the disappointment if they didnt.. BUT I now have about ten 5" seedlings coming up..

In some cases I planted two or three in the same hole - thinking atleast one would live - now I have upt to three coming up together....

What should I do with these so I can transplant them later on? We are building a new house and I want to transplant these trees there in the late summer/fall...

Any, and all advise is appreciated..

thanks

brian

 

[DocHeb]

Carefully dig them up now and re-plant then in their own holes. Use gentle care and refill the hole with soft soil to save the roots.

 

[thatguy]

Should I try to put them in separate containers since I want to transplant them later on? Or will the roots still be shallow enough in 5 to 6 months to allow me to get them up without damaging them?

thanks

Brian

 

[DocHeb]

Chestnuts develop a central taproot that will make later transplant difficult. I would try to move them to their permanent location now for the greatest transplant success. Transplant within the first year is possible, but for best success do it now rather than later.

 

[Chuck52]

There are special "bottomless" pots that are good for oaks. They are deeper than normal pots and are open at the bottom. When the roots grow out the bottom they air-prune...i.e. they die off, and that stimulates lateral root growth. Check out the Forrest Keeling Nursery site. Just search on that name and you'll find it. It's in eastern Missouri, and they specialize in oak trees.

Chuck

 

[Glenn9643]

I've pulled several live oak and overcup oak seedlings from flower beds around here and immediately potted them in 1-gallon containers using potting soil. Kept them in our potting shed and watered regularly until the following fall when we planted them in their permanent location. They're doing better than most seedlings we've bought and set out so far.