Growing Trees from Seed (Oak, Chestnut etc)

siochain

Hi Folks,

Have been keeping a eye on the acorns in the local park the last few weeks as I want to harvest a few for planting. If your out and about and notice ripe acorns starting to fall will you post up here ?

Its more the timing as opposed to location.


Thanks

10-10-20

Marley Park?

rediguana

Hi everyone.

I don't normally have much business with plants or growing things, but I wanted to mark the year of my marriage (2008) by planting some conkers. I have no real idea how to get them to germinate. I had a quick google and no definite technique emerged.

The consensus seems to be to replicate the wild. So, let them dry, immerse them in water, let them dry again, maybe freeze them every now and then (to let the hard shell split), then plant them in the spring in a pot of compost. Am I on the right track?

Also, I'm not that patient; can I accelerate the germination process and get some shoots within the next month or so, or are they genetically programmed to stay dormant until the spring?

Thanks!

siochain

we have grown a few for the last two years, just plant them directly in pots outside and nature will do the rest. No need to dry them out and I don't know any way to speed up the process. Gemination rate is high and you should see them coming through next spring,

good luck

rediguana

Thanks! I have a few so I'll put some in pots now and leave them in the hands of the Gods. The others I'd like to see shoots out of before I plant them, so I'll put them in glass jars with damp paper supporting them, and keep them warm and aerated (the experimental group to see if I can speed them up!). I bought tulip bulbs in Holland before and planted them straight into the soil but they never saw the light of day, and that was many years ago

Irish Gardener

Conkers are not technically a dormant seed, and germinate quite easily.
This article.... Grow native trees from seed, pre-treatment and sowing tips. is helpful for those of you wishing to grow some natives for the new year.
Horse chestnut, although not native, is dealt with as well from about half way down the piece.

rediguana

Thanks, for that, Irish Gardener - now my tree empire can begin in earnest!

rediguana

Hey. Just another quick question. I read that Irish Gardeners article and it's very good. But at one point it says that hazelnuts need a winter of cold before germinating in the spring, then at the end of the article it says hazelnuts are not dormant and should be sown as soon as collected in the autumn. I have hazelnuts too for planting. If I sow them, should I not be surprised if they don't sprout until the spring?

Irish Gardener

rediguana wrote: »

Hey. Just another quick question. I read that Irish Gardeners article and it's very good.

Thanks.

rediguana wrote: »

But at one point it says that hazelnuts need a winter of cold before germinating in the spring, then at the end of the article it says hazelnuts are not dormant and should be sown as soon as collected in the autumn.

Newly collected hazelnuts are not dormant.
It is when they are collected and stored that a hardening of the shell occurs, which gives them an external dormancy.
So you are best to sow them quite soon after collection.
I edited the piece to make it clearer, and set me up for a new piece on seed storage.

rediguana wrote: »

I have hazelnuts too for planting. If I sow them, should I not be surprised if they don't sprout until the spring?

You will increase the possible number of germinating hazelnuts by using the "sink or swim" test mentioned in the article, but always be prepared for a few failures.
Sow ten at least nuts, then you are virtually assured of one good plant.
Everything else is a bonus, to keep for yourself, or to give away to friends.

Ps. watch the hazelnut pots from the end of February onwards.

Ding Dong

Theres Acorns falling at the moment up in Wicklow. I p[resume it must be the same where u are?

NickTellis

rediguana wrote: »

Thanks, for that, Irish Gardener - now my tree empire can begin in earnest!

Hope the marriage lasts long enough to see the proverbial fruits of your labour

rediguana

NickTellis wrote: »

Hope the marriage lasts long enough to see the proverbial fruits of your labour

If the marriage fails, I'll just chop down the trees or yank the immature saplings out of the ground. I'm sure that it would be very catharthic in the event of a nasty breakup.

siochain

cheers Ding Dong, picked up a load of them in Donadea Forest at the weekend

2 stroke

Love, honor and obey, or the tree gets it.

bbam

Folks..
Quick question...
I've managed to germinate about 10 chestnut trees and a number of oak last spring... This year I plan to up the game a bit as we're just completing a new house and I'd like to thicken up some of the boundries...

I plan to go again for the chestnut and oak, I'm presuming that ash, hawthorn and sycamore will germinate with similar ease, has anyone else tried these?

Also.. rather than starting in pots I was planning to establish a row on the ditch where I want them to grow... anyone see any problem with that ?

Thanks
bam

CJhaughey

Ash will grow very well, I have hundreds of little ash seedlings coming up all round my place on gravel.
I would start seeds in pots and plant them out when they reach 8-10" this will allow you to select the best of the trees, and give them a good chance.

Amtmann

duplicate post

Amtmann

I got 23 acorns in Tipp last weekend.

I seperate the good from the bad before planting by means of visual inspection. I discard small ones, and ones that have obvious damage. I have to say though, I don't find the 'float test' to be very reliable. In my experience, if an acorn looks sound, it will grow.

I gathered 23 seeds on Sunday and planted 12 of them in pots outside today. I've left the others in the fridge at about 4 degrees celsius and will plant these next weekend once I get more pots. I did a 'float test' on them a few minutes ago -- and they all failed! That won't stop me from planting them though -- I know they're all viable.

The Sweeper

Threads on propagating from acorn and chestnut all merged.

Amtmann

bbam wrote: »

Also.. rather than starting in pots I was planning to establish a row on the ditch where I want them to grow... anyone see any problem with that ?

Thanks
bam

Maybe. While they will grow there, they're much more likely to be picked off by wildlife, or to be choked by next summer's growth if you plant them there. I always find that planting in a pot works better. That said, why not collect a lot more seeds and plant some in pots and some on the ditch? That way if the ones on the ditch don't work out you still have the potted seedlings.

scooterdoyle

how to do it
1 In october,collect lots of 1 litre milk cartons ( 2 litre are even better if you can get them)
2 pierce small drainage holes at the bottom with a sharp pencil
3 buy the dirt cheapest compost you can get in lidl or aldi
4 mix the compost in a one 1:1 ratio with sand5 fill each carton up to top
6 push an acorn down to the depth of 1 cm and cover over.
7 leave in a sunny spot against a wall (stops carton toppling over) over the winter
8 weed out and grasses or weeds that might appear in early spring
9 in april or may(5-6 months) you should see saplings coming up and they will reach a height of 150cm before october( 1 year old)
10 in February (15 months) dig a hole slightly bigger than the milk carton
11 drop the milk carton down into hole and pack soil back around it
12 the milk carton will rot before the summer but will also protect the root of the young sapling from insect etc until then
13 i have grown trees with this method which are now 3 metres high (10 yeaqrs)
14 success rate of germination of acorns is about 60%
15 trees might save us, nothing else will.

Amtmann

The acorns I planted last autumn are starting to break the soil surface now at last. They all failed the so-called float test, yet they've all proved viable.