Big Bur
- Thread starter T-Max
- Start date
j-bird
Well-Known Member
Bur oaks grow some big acorns at times. Not all of them do, but in general a bur oak produces the biggest acorn I am aware of. They are a white oak as well so they can produce every year. That one you have there appears to be a real nice one. I have seen some the size of a golf ball before. Collect some of those and plant them!
T-Max
Well-Known Member
There are definitely going to be some of these in the ground. When I posted the thread about direct seeding a while back, I hadn't found this tree. It is really interesting as it isn't a really big tree compared to most of the others around. And I had said that we were covered up in black oaks on our place. I had been told that by my dad. Now that I've been doing some research, I think most of what he was referring to are bur oaks.
j-bird
Well-Known Member
Bur oak can be tricky in removing the cap - because it sort of encases the acorn itself. I have my chinkapin oaks just about ready to start dropping and a white oak with a few that I am keeping an eye on as well. I also have a few burs. I was checking my chinkapin over the weekend and damaged one in trying to remove it from the cap, so they need some time yet. These can be a great source for free seed to help with getting more oaks on a property. I have heard some say Bur oak grows "fast" while others claim they grow "slow" - all I know is that any oak will grow the best in the proper soil and full sun light! I would much rather have bur oak than black oak myself, but sometimes we work with the cards we are dealt. Good luck in collecting and planting some of those nice big bur oak acorns.
Nebraskaz71
Active Member
I'm growing a lot of burs from seed, they are coming up on the end of their 3rd season and most are 4-5ft tall in tubes. Most of the bur acorns around here are the size of a nickel or smaller. That thing is a monster!
Needmorebrush82
Member
That is actually pretty common size which is crazy! I planted a bunch that size last fall and now most are 3-4ft. Channel lock pliers make getting the caps off a breeze. Good luck and great find. I will never forget seeing my first big but acorn and thinking holy crap!Look at the size of the acorns on this tree! This may be common, but not where I'm from. This tree's acorns are far bigger than any of the other trees around it. Bottle cap for reference. My wife has small hands...
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Look at the size of the acorns on this tree! This may be common, but not where I'm from. This tree's acorns are far bigger than any of the other trees around it. Bottle cap for reference. My wife has small hands...
That's a big acorn (and my favorite beer)!
Here is a pic of some of our Burrs from a few weeks ago. Last night my oldest boy commented on how he could see the acorns from a couple of hundred yds away, and that the tree limbs were starting to sag because of them. It's going to be an impressive crop!
T-Max
Well-Known Member
That's a big acorn (and my favorite beer)!
Here is a pic of some of our Burrs from a few weeks ago. Last night my oldest boy commented on how he could see the acorns from a couple of hundred yds away, and that the tree limbs were starting to sag because of them. It's going to be an impressive crop!
After seeing yours, is mine definitely a bur? The leaves look bur, but mine have a lot more acorn showing...
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Not sure. Oaks are hard for me to ID due to great variations in leaf shape. Heck, different leafs on the same tree sometimes look like different species. My pics are several weeks old, the caps will recede as they mature so maybe we are just at different maturities. Or one of us could have a hybrid of some sort with Burr in it.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
If I get home in the daylight tonight I'll take more pics of leafs and acorns. Start an oak ID thread and maybe someone on here can give some positive id's or opinions.
It is extremely likely both of the acorns displayed on this thread are from Bur Oaks; the only other member of the white oak family that resembles a bur Oak (in size, shape and cap covering) is the Overcup Oak. The cup (cupule) on an Overcup Oak usually covers almost the entire acorn (not so with a Bur Oak) and typically an OCO doesn't have the lone hair-like structures growing out the end of the cap (Bur Oaks have the hair-like structures).
catscratch
Well-Known Member
^^^ That makes it easy. Thanks for the clarification!
T-Max
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Thanks for the clarification. What strikes me as interesting about mine are how big this one is and not 100 yards away there is a bur covered in acorns that are nickel sized or so.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
I took a couple of pics anyway. This what most of the acorns on tree look like right now:
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Tenured Student
Active Member
Definitely looks like Quercus Macrocarpa I.e. Oak with big nuts.
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What state are you in?
In Iowa the bur oaks produce a smaller acorn that Southern Bur Oaks.
The cap doesn't need to be removed because the roots and the sprout emerge from the tip of the acorn. However you can speed germination by carefully removing both the cap and the shell.
In SW Missouri Bur Oak acorns drop in mid October.
If you direct seed, you should get about 6 inches of growth this year, while others will wait until Spring to sprout. Direct seeding is the way to go with Bur Oak.
Without question, that is a Bur Oak Acorn.
In Iowa the bur oaks produce a smaller acorn that Southern Bur Oaks.
The cap doesn't need to be removed because the roots and the sprout emerge from the tip of the acorn. However you can speed germination by carefully removing both the cap and the shell.
In SW Missouri Bur Oak acorns drop in mid October.
If you direct seed, you should get about 6 inches of growth this year, while others will wait until Spring to sprout. Direct seeding is the way to go with Bur Oak.
Without question, that is a Bur Oak Acorn.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
I'm in Kansas.
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