Acorn float test

Jeff H

Jeff H

Well-Known Member
I picked up a bunch of burr oak acorns today and did a float test on them. 2 to 1 failed the test. The pile on the right floated, the pile on the left sank.

Question for those who have done this before: how long do you leave them in the water? I left them for just a minute. I wondered (wished maybe) if the large husk of the burr oak may have kept some good ones floating.
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Yes, the cap should be removed for the float test, but it isn't always necessary. As you know, some will sink with the cap on. I have read that you can leave them soaking for 24 hours to allow the acorns to rehydrate. I gathered about 75 Shumard oak acorns out of a Sam's parking lot this week. About half initially floated. I removed the sinkers and let them soak. I had about another 20 sink in less than 24 hours. Just because they float does not mean they are not viable. The sinkers are in the fridge and I planted the floaters in a flower bed out of the way. If anything comes up, I will transplant it and consider it a bonus.

There is a guide that may be worth your time reading if you are not familiar with it already. It is called Collection and Care of Acorns, A Practical Guide For Seed Collectors And Nursery Managers. The last link I had for it was
http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/collection and care of acorns.pdf but it doesn't seem to be currently working for me.
 
Always remove the caps first....then keep the sinkers and toss the floaters. Some floaters will still germinate, and not all the sinkers will, but this little test puts the odds far more in your favor. As your acorns mature - caps removal will become easier, just make sure you are not damaging the acorn in the process.....sometimes then you force the cap off you can damage the connection point of the acorn and that's not good. Good luck.
 
Fishman said:
Yes, the cap should be removed for the float test, but it isn't always necessary. As you know, some will sink with the cap on. I have read that you can leave them soaking for 24 hours to allow the acorns to rehydrate. I gathered about 75 Shumard oak acorns out of a Sam's parking lot this week. About half initially floated. I removed the sinkers and let them soak. I had about another 20 sink in less than 24 hours. Just because they float does not mean they are not viable. The sinkers are in the fridge and I planted the floaters in a flower bed out of the way. If anything comes up, I will transplant it and consider it a bonus.

There is a guide that may be worth your time reading if you are not familiar with it already. It is called Collection and Care of Acorns, A Practical Guide For Seed Collectors And Nursery Managers. The last link I had for it was
http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/collection and care of acorns.pdf but it doesn't seem to be currently working for me.
Click to expand...
Interesting that you found your at a Sam's club. I found mine at a Walmart parking lot. Sam would be proud!
 
Channelocks (adjustable) my man .... about a 10-in pair. Open the pliers until they are just wider than the widest acorn cap. Place the pliers teeth at the bottom of the acorn cap (where the cap is attached to the tree) and squeeze (apply pressure slowly in order to not damage the acorn). Many/most of them will pop out just like a zit. Ugh!
 
Jeff H said:
Interesting that you found your at a Sam's club. I found mine at a Walmart parking lot. Sam would be proud!
Click to expand...
My local Walmart has mainly live oaks, but over by the garden center they have two sawtooth oaks and a really nice chestnut tree. Unfortunately they only have one chestnut so nothing gets pollinated. I think the trees may have been leftovers that didn't sell so an employee just added to the landscaping. They don't really "match" the shopping center landscaping. Picking up acorns in freshly mowed grass is so much easier than hunting around in the woods.
 
The burr oaks at my walmart must be native and we're seedlings way before Sam Walton was born. It's amazing they have survived surrounded by concrete. Half of the ones I picked up were in the asphalt parking lot.

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Jeff H said:
The burr oaks at my walmart must be native and we're seedlings way before Sam Walton was born. It's amazing they have survived surrounded by concrete. Half of the ones I picked up were in the asphalt parking lot.

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Click to expand...
Here is a picture of the one dropping now. There are three others that have not dropped.
3f8573fb926215f30d60554a8c46c396.jpg
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Jeff H said:
I picked up a bunch of burr oak acorns today and did a float test on them. 2 to 1 failed the test. The pile on the right floated, the pile on the left sank.

Question for those who have done this before: how long do you leave them in the water? I left them for just a minute. I wondered (wished maybe) if the large husk of the burr oak may have kept some good ones floating.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Jeff, In my experience if you have room to sow them all go ahead and plant the floaters too. I have done float tests and planted the floaters and still had about 50 percent germination out of them. So I quit doing float tests! However if you are in a limited space just planting the sinkers increases germ up to about 90 to 95 percent. All this is in a greenhouse setting by the way. Letting them soak for 24 hours is a good idea as well but make sure if you are going to store them over winter in a fridge you give them a day to dry out a little.

To BuckDeer on picking the acorn off the tree or off the ground. If they are falling off the tree to the ground you are fine picking them off the tree as well. When we do our collecting if they are still green in the tree but you can still remove the cap without damaging the acorn then they are good to collect at that time as well. That is when I prefer if you are able to get to them. After collecting lay them out on a table at home to allow to turn brown and ripen, then store over winter.

Good luck!
 
NurseryDad said:
Jeff, In my experience if you have room to sow them all go ahead and plant the floaters too. I have done float tests and planted the floaters and still had about 50 percent germination out of them. So I quit doing float tests! However if you are in a limited space just planting the sinkers increases germ up to about 90 to 95 percent. All this is in a greenhouse setting by the way. Letting them soak for 24 hours is a good idea as well but make sure if you are going to store them over winter in a fridge you give them a day to dry out a little.

To BuckDeer on picking the acorn off the tree or off the ground. If they are falling off the tree to the ground you are fine picking them off the tree as well. When we do our collecting if they are still green in the tree but you can still remove the cap without damaging the acorn then they are good to collect at that time as well. That is when I prefer if you are able to get to them. After collecting lay them out on a table at home to allow to turn brown and ripen, then store over winter.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Well I've ended up doing another float test with caps off and now have 248 acorns that all sank. The floaters were left in a bucket on the deck and have all been ravaged by squirrels. Not one left.
I have no way to plant all of these this Fall and have no means to refrigerate them till Spring. Can I freeze them?
 
Jeff H said:
Well I've ended up doing another float test with caps off and now have 248 acorns that all sank. The floaters were left in a bucket on the deck and have all been ravaged by squirrels. Not one left.
I have no way to plant all of these this Fall and have no means to refrigerate them till Spring. Can I freeze them?
Click to expand...
I go back and forth on freezing them. I have never tried it. Now that you bring that up I may try freezing a small batch this winter and trying it out. They freeze in nature. If it doesn't work for you there is always next fall to collect!
 
I collected them because I saw them there but really have not planned for it at all. It was kind of spur of the moment. I have no tree tubes and truly don't have the time. As well I have a 100 acres and 98 of them are oak covered. I don't NEED any more oaks. Perhaps I should offer them to members here that have a need for them. Would you have use of some burr oak acorns ?
 
Man I'm jealous of that many oaks on your property. I have 160 acres in Nebraska with not a single oak when we bought it. It's getting better as I plant more, but they are all pretty small yet. As for needing acorns it was a pretty bumper crop here for bur oak so I am good. Somebody out there may be interested.
 
I have never froze them for a long period of time I have kept them in my garage refrigerator which I keep at around 36 degrees and have successfully gotten them to grow two years later. I’ve done this with big bur acorns and chestnuts.


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