How to grow an acorn oak at home
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Trees and shrubs will perfectly highlight the beauty and landscape design of any garden. Before planting an acorn oak, it is worth knowing the rules for caring for the plant, how to determine the readiness of seedlings and prepare the soil. The growth and appearance of the tree depends on watering, the choice of planting material, picking, timely transplantation of seedlings and seedlings.
Preparing material for planting
Before you can grow an oak from an acorn yourself at home, you need to prepare everything. First, you should find the fruits and check them for quality. Additionally, the soil is prepared and a pick is carried out.
Sprawling green oak
Choosing and preparing an acorn for planting
For planting, it is required to collect fruits from the beginning to mid-autumn, while the foliage has not yet fallen. They are immediately examined for holes, mold. The best are brown acorns with a greenish tint.
If possible, you need to find suitable trees in the summer. You can get to the acorn with a long stick or using a ladder. On some types of trees, the fruits do not reach a year, but two. In the most common common oak, acorns appear in September-October. To check how good the collected material is, you need to conduct a test. Acorns are placed in a container of water and those that are left to swim after a couple of minutes are not suitable. They rise to the surface due to mold or insects.
There are two types of common oak. In a summer tree, the leaves begin to bloom at the end of spring, then change color and fall off in the fall. All processes take place at the winter oak, but with a delay of one month. By the middle of autumn, the foliage acquires a dark brown color and is able to remain on the stems until the next flowering.
How to collect acorns correctly
Good fruits are dried and placed in a bag with vermiculite, dry wood chips or other moisture-retaining medium. The bag should close well. Acorns are placed in it, after which they are sent to the refrigerator for 1.5 months or longer. It is worth checking the bag from time to time, the soil should be slightly damp.
Soil for oak
The tree is characterized by unpretentiousness to the ground, although it prefers fertile soil filled with nutrients. So that the sprouts that have broken through do not die, they are placed in moist soil taken from the location of the mother tree. If it is impossible to get it, you can use the land from a fertile plot or summer cottage with the addition of vermiculite or peat moss.
Holes must be or must be made in the bottom of the dishes to allow excess moisture to escape. The sprout is planted to a depth of 5 cm. First, it is better to take plastic cups, which can be easily transferred in the house. From the first year to 10 years of a plant's life, its growth rate varies from 25 to 35 cm, but the older the tree becomes, the slower the process. As the oak matures, it should be transplanted into a larger pot with a replacement soil.
Watching the growth of a tree
Even if the acorns are stored in a cold and humid environment, they will start to germinate. The root begins to break through the shell in late autumn or early winter season. After 45 days, the sprout is ready for planting, regardless of the presence of a root. Handle the acorn with care because it is very easy to damage the protruding root.
Picking up oak seedlings
When transplanting from a small to a large container, it is worth remembering that the plant begins to develop faster. A pick is done when 2-3 leaves appear and at least 2 weeks have passed.
The first shoots when breeding oak
Planting material into the ground
The next step is to understand when the sprouts can be transplanted, how to choose the right substrate and the place where to plant and grow it.
How to determine the readiness of seedlings to change the place
Several factors should be considered by which growers determine the time of the procedure:
- plant height reaches 15 cm;
- a healthy root system;
- the presence of leaflets;
- active development of the main root.
A change of location must be carried out if the seedling has already reached the size of the container in which it grows.
When can you plant seedlings in the soil
Some gardeners choose to plant on their own, from choosing an acorn to sprouting an acorn at home. To shorten the growing time of the doom, you can immediately purchase seedlings. The nurseries offer both ordinary and original varieties of wood.
Red oak in the garden
Planting seedlings in open ground must be carried out as quickly as possible, preferably immediately after purchase or removal from the pot. How the step-by-step process goes:
- Two hours before planting, the seedling is watered, which makes it easier to pull it out of the container.
- At the bottom of the prepared pit, drainage is placed in the form of crushed stone, broken brick, etc., with a layer of 10 cm.
- The pit is filled with a substrate.
- The seedling is transplanted together with a clod of earth.
The soil level should be the same as in the pot. When removing the plant, you can shake it slightly to remove excess soil.
Site selection and landing features
Much depends on the location, because oak requires a lot of space for development. When choosing a landing site, you should take into account the nuances:
- Lighting. The tree needs sunlight, so it should not be planted in the shade.
- Plantings. All plants in the garden compete with each other for moisture, nutrients, and sun. The oak should not be close to other vegetation, otherwise it will not grow to an adult state.
- Shadow. If planting a tree involves darkening the house from ultraviolet radiation, then it must be placed on the west, southwest side.
- Underground pipes, paths. Oak tends to grow quickly, so it should be planted away from home so that it does not have to be uprooted when working in the garden.
Growing oak tree care
The tree requires special care after planting. A young plant often becomes food for rodents, insects, and animals. It is recommended to take some measures to protect the seedlings from external influences. To protect them from uninvited guests, you should put a fence made of mesh or plastic.We'll have to build a fence even around the crown in those areas where deer live. Pesticides will help with parasites and beetles.
Picking acorns in an oak grove
The trees have a long root system that draws moisture from the depths. Watering must be stopped in the autumn and winter seasons. But in the summer, you will need abundant hydration. Gardeners advise using drip irrigation evenly. You should take care of the growing plant constantly. When the tree becomes an adult, only timely watering and periodic pest control are needed.
Subsequent development of the seedling
Two months after planting the plant, the first shoots begin to appear in the soil, and later the leaves on them. Those seedlings that grew in one container need picking. Fortified young oaks are placed in larger pots so that the trunk and rhizome are properly formed.
Features of caring for a young oak in the garden
The seedling has a weak rhizome for the first two years, so it requires regular watering in the warm season. Additionally, loosening of the soil, weeding is carried out. In the second year, you can use fertilizing for young oak in the form of mineral fertilizers. They consist of essential microelements that have a beneficial effect on the development of the seedling and its root system. It is better to purchase top dressing in a specialized store.
Watering a tree in dry weather
The root of a plant climbing underground is able to germinate and extract moisture from the depths, even with a dry surface. The tree is not watered in winter and in rainy weather. Young oak trees need water during extreme heat. The best option is a drip irrigation system. Spraying should take about 30 liters of water for 1.5-2 weeks.
The process of sprouting an oak from an acorn takes quite a long time, but it is simple and interesting. From a small seedling, you can get a beautiful and huge tree. The beginner or professional gardener has the opportunity to observe the life cycle of a green plantation. Therefore, each of them should know how to grow an oak from an acorn at home and all breeding methods.
