Native Plants

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Saturday - April 21, 2012

From: Huntsville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seeds and Seeding, Trees
Title: Care for oak acorns after planting from Huntsville TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I planted oak trees from acorns, how often and how much do I water them?

ANSWER:

When we searched on the Internet on "planting oaks from acorns," we got a lot of hits. We don't know what kind of oak you have, if you planted it in the ground, etc. so we selected this article from the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service on Growing Oak Trees from Seed. As for how much to water the seeds, if they are in the ground, let the rain do it-oaks have been growing from seeds for millions of years without help from humans. If it is in a pot, make sure the pot is well-drained, and don't soak it. A nice sprinkle once a week should be adequate. And don't be surprised if a lot of the oaks don't sprout-squirrels or worms may beat you to them, the seeds may be infertile, the soil wrong, etc. If every acorn that fell to the ground sprouted, there would be no room for the rest of us on Earth.