White Oaks or Sawtooth Oaks
- Thread starter coolbrze0
- Start date
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
White oaks. But this might not be the most important factor for deciding which to plant. How much time do you have? Sawtooth start producing after 5 years, white oak after 20 years, and even then they are sporadic. I'd plant 100% sawtooth.
Triple C
Well-Known Member
Yep. If I'm planting for future mast it would be sawtooths. Prolific producers and start producing in a few years. White oaks on my place produce a bumper crop maybe one out of 3 years. Killer when they do but too sporadic for me. Interestingly enough, we were having this discussion a few weeks ago comparing water oaks to white oaks. I'd pick water oaks over whites simply because they produce in abundance every year and drop from mid October thru mid to late December in our area. Right now the water oaks are getting hammered by deer.
The sawtooths I planted as seedlings in '14 are around 10' tall and haven't hinted at any production. Perhaps they don't like my heavy clay. I've planted more seedlings and acorn from this forum the last couple years so I haven't given up on them but .......
Same goes for Chinese chestnuts. They are 5 years old now from the nut and maybe 6 ft tall. I don't think they'll be producing anytime soon.
All of these were planted in full sun.
On the flip side I have swamp white oaks planted 5 years ago that are pushing 15' and produced acorns this year. I planted a couple hundred of them in the timber crp plan last spring. Can't wait to see what they do.
Same goes for Chinese chestnuts. They are 5 years old now from the nut and maybe 6 ft tall. I don't think they'll be producing anytime soon.
All of these were planted in full sun.
On the flip side I have swamp white oaks planted 5 years ago that are pushing 15' and produced acorns this year. I planted a couple hundred of them in the timber crp plan last spring. Can't wait to see what they do.
coolbrze0 said .... "Maybe I'll do a combination of both"
Here are a couple of authors who say you are thinking clearly .......
https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/pha...ct-tree-for-landowners-and-wildlife-managers/
https://bpfamilyfarms.com/the-truth-about-sawtooth-oak/
Other considerations like your age, if you have young children (grandkids also) who are/will become deer hunters, and the resale value of the property (timber value) are factors suggesting planting whites/sawtooths on a 60-40 or 65-35 split might be a good idea.
Here are a couple of authors who say you are thinking clearly .......
https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/pha...ct-tree-for-landowners-and-wildlife-managers/
https://bpfamilyfarms.com/the-truth-about-sawtooth-oak/
Other considerations like your age, if you have young children (grandkids also) who are/will become deer hunters, and the resale value of the property (timber value) are factors suggesting planting whites/sawtooths on a 60-40 or 65-35 split might be a good idea.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Should I eat lobster or steak? I will have both....
I'll Stick with the steak, Blue Rare please, but mostly because the lobster could be fatal
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I'd add all the hybrid oaks you can find to this list. They'll likely produce sooner than white or red, and having a mix will increase your chance of having some acorns every year. If you dig through this forum, there are lots of great recommendations for species and where to buy.
