Working in the oak planting

Native Hunter

Well-Known Member
This tree planting was originally done around 14 years ago. It has a White Pine Road screen and most of the rest of the planting is 7 or 8 different kinds of oaks. On one end I have a fruit orchard that you guys see me posting pics of all the time, but this post is about the oaks, which I don't talk about much.

Over the next 3-4 years after the original planting I did some replacements where trees died. I was mowing the rows with a tractor and bushhog, but the lower limbs on the oaks are spreading out so much the rows are closing in. This year I am going through with the DR Mower and my saw doing some final work before walking away from this and calling it good.

The only real work is cutting and stump treating some useless volunteer trees that come up in the rows with the trees I planted. In my case that is mostly sweetgum. In 80% of this planting, I don't worry about it anymore - the oaks have dominated and nothing can catch them. But, I will continue to work in some of the slow areas for 3-4 more years before calling it good and leaving it alone.

This is from the outside looking in. The oak planting is behind these pines that I also planted.

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This is on the inside looking out. You can see that the oaks are about as tall as the white pines.

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This was taken out in the planting. This is a couple of red oaks - either pin oaks or cherrybark, I have both and don't recall which these were.

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This is typical of what some of the bigger ones look like at the ground. I think this is an overcup oak.

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Same tree as above.

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This is a typical red oak.

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Burr Oaks and their corky looking bark. I only have maybe 30 of these. They are a little slow but healthy.

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This is one of my sweetgum piles. I have these scattered around at different places. Good bunny hiding spots.

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Just thought I would share how I have been getting some much needed exercise, and figured some of you guys would enjoy the oaks. Best wishes.
 
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Beautiful. How many are producing acorns? I made a couple of bunny piles today myself. Had one jump out of a pile I made last year, so it made the work a little easier.


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Beautiful. How many are producing acorns? I made a couple of bunny piles today myself. Had one jump out of a pile I made last year, so it made the work a little easier.

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I don't go out in there after the leaves come out, but I have noticed a few around the edges that have made acorns. I remember seeing a Chinkapin Oak last year that had some. Most oaks take a little longer than 14 years to really get into production.
 
Thanks for sharing, Native Hunter. Your trees look great! I love oaks. I planted about 500 eight or nine years ago and continue to nurture them along. Of course, it will be future generations that benefit, but I still like the idea of leaving this legacy. It's the only thing that will still be around long after I'm gone.
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Thanks for sharing, Native Hunter. Your trees look great! I love oaks. I planted about 500 eight or nine years ago and continue to nurture them along. Of course, it will be future generations that benefit, but I still like the idea of leaving this legacy. It's the only thing that will still be around long after I'm gone.
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Thanks Osceola. Great picture of your planting. I love the mixed in conifers that you have there.

Those goldenrods look less painful to work in than the blackberry briers that want to grow in with my trees.:)
 
Congratulations native and Osceola. Both of your plantings are so outstanding. I did part of the same as each of you twenty years ago but I missed the protect them part. It is today as if nothing had been planted. The deer ate it all within a week of putting it in. We just didn't know any better then and hoped the deer wouldn't notice our new plantings. Needless to say it was just a swing and a miss.
 
Congratulations native and Osceola. Both of your plantings are so outstanding. I did part of the same as each of you twenty years ago but I missed the protect them part. It is today as if nothing had been planted. The deer ate it all within a week of putting it in. We just didn't know any better then and hoped the deer wouldn't notice our new plantings. Needless to say it was just a swing and a miss.
When I did this planting, I choked at the thought of paying about $5 per oak including tube and stake (5 x 500 = $2500). I asked my local NRCS forester if I could just skip the tree tubes and take my chances. He said it would be a waste of my time and money. Glad I took his advice.
 
Native Hunter - I love the Bur Oaks. They have become one of my favorites because of the "corkiness" They are so different from my other oaks. I don't have any producing acorns yet, but love adding the variety to my plantings.
 
Native Hunter - I love the Bur Oaks. They have become one of my favorites because of the "corkiness" They are so different from my other oaks. I don't have any producing acorns yet, but love adding the variety to my plantings.

Yes, I think having variety is important. It gives a better chance of having something producing in any given year. If one fails another may do well just because of the weather changing during pollinating time.
 
I have 35 baby burs that have exploded with top growth this spring

I placed the acorns in large containers last fall immediately after I received them from a friend

will baby them over summer and transplant this november

Yes, I know they won't produce well for 10-20 years(blah,blah) but the gratification of raising "my children" is indescribable to non addicts.....

bill
 
I'm bumping this thread back up for someone asking about oak growth. This thread is about a year old and the oldest oaks were about 14 years old when I started the thread. In my spare time I've been doing some work recently like I did last spring - taking advantage of some of the warm and dry days (not many of those) that pop up occasionally.

In 2018 I watched a little closer for acorns and saw many trees bearing.

I know a lot of people on here love Bur Oaks so the other day when working, I took a picture of one of the nicer ones. Burs are slower than most of the others on my place, but they all look very healthy.

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How long do you guys keep the oaks protected by the tree tubes? I have some going into year 3 and popping out of the tubes.
 
How long do you guys keep the oaks protected by the tree tubes? I have some going into year 3 and popping out of the tubes.

I didn't use any tubes. I kept rows mowed and did what I had to do within each row around each tree with a shovel for the tree to be able to get sunlight. The volunteer weeds that came up helped to protect the trees. This includes briers, but you have to keep the briers beat back from over the tops of the trees for a few years until the trees get their heads above them. They will protect a tree but also can tangle them up and kill them when they are small.
 
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