Fishman
Active Member
The sawtooth oaks here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast started dropping this week. I picked up about 50 this morning in a couple of minutes and all sank like a rock. I have big plans for this winter and next spring, but wanted to ask a few questions from the experts. I have grown a few oak seedlings for the past couple of years (15 in 2016 and 60 or so this year), but really wanted to ramp up my production in the coming months. I am going to order some RootMaker 18 propagation trays and will be using racks of grow lights that I will set up in my garage. I would like to grow sawtooth, southern red, willow, Shumard, swamp chestnut, white, live, and water oak. Water oak and sawtooth are not really a priority to me since they are literally everywhere around here, but they would be good to practice with. I also am going to try some chestnuts and Alleghany chinquapins, but I will baby these more.
If I start the stratification process now on these sawtooth acorns or the other oak acorns I will be gathering in the coming weeks, could I start the acorns in the propagation trays in November or December under the grow lights? Ideally I would like to grow the trees until late March or early April and then transplant them at my parents’ house in southern Louisiana. The threat of freeze in late March or early April is very slim. I would like to get them in the ground and growing before it starts getting really hot in May and June. I don’t want to invest in larger pots for keeping all (possibly 200 or more) of the trees although I will keep some over the summer. I will have the racks with grow lights in my unheated garage in front of a south facing double window. Will the acorns germinate in December if they are receiving light? Winter temperatures down here are fairly mild. Our worst weather is probably a nice spring day for most of you guys. The garage will never dip below freezing, but might get into the low 50s or upper 40s overnight in the worst cold. It usually warms up quickly during the day. Should I try to start the germination process inside where it is warmer and then move the trees once they start growing?
I would just like a little advice so I don’t waste time and lose a year experimenting. Also let me know if anyone wants any August dropping sawtooths. Everybody seems to want late dropping sawtooths, but I thought I would throw that out there.
If I start the stratification process now on these sawtooth acorns or the other oak acorns I will be gathering in the coming weeks, could I start the acorns in the propagation trays in November or December under the grow lights? Ideally I would like to grow the trees until late March or early April and then transplant them at my parents’ house in southern Louisiana. The threat of freeze in late March or early April is very slim. I would like to get them in the ground and growing before it starts getting really hot in May and June. I don’t want to invest in larger pots for keeping all (possibly 200 or more) of the trees although I will keep some over the summer. I will have the racks with grow lights in my unheated garage in front of a south facing double window. Will the acorns germinate in December if they are receiving light? Winter temperatures down here are fairly mild. Our worst weather is probably a nice spring day for most of you guys. The garage will never dip below freezing, but might get into the low 50s or upper 40s overnight in the worst cold. It usually warms up quickly during the day. Should I try to start the germination process inside where it is warmer and then move the trees once they start growing?
I would just like a little advice so I don’t waste time and lose a year experimenting. Also let me know if anyone wants any August dropping sawtooths. Everybody seems to want late dropping sawtooths, but I thought I would throw that out there.
