Q&A for How to Grow an Oak Tree from an Acorn

You don't need the cap of the acorn. The seed is the lower part of the acorn, and you just need to plant that.

No, you should never damage the leading branch. This will damage the tree's appearance and make it vulnerable to disease. It's better to plant a variety of oaks, including scrub oak or a gambel oak, which will branch low or look more like a shrub.

Yes, but keep an eye on them for the roots.

Keep watering the tree to keep the soil moist, keep it in partial sunlight, and protect the tree from heavy rain. Once the tree is 8 to 12 inches high, plant it in full sun. Keep an animal-proof fence around it, and cover it with a plant cone before snow falls its first winter.

Plant the acorn on its side with the baby root sprout down and buried under just enough soil to cover it. Do not cut off anything. The tree will emerge more or less vertical out the top. The acorn has the food for the young sprouted root to nourish itself until it is established and the green sapling is able to start photosynthesis.

White oaks have larger, rounded lobes on the leaves, and a red oak's leaves have jagged lobes.

No, not yet, it would stunt its growth, which is desirable at this stage. Branches will come later, don't worry.

If they are are native oaks where you live, it would be great if you planted as many as possible.

Depends on the variety of oak. Gulf Coast live oaks can produce acorns as early as 3 to 5 years. Many other varieties don't produce acorns until they are 20 to 25 years old.

A larger, healthy acorn would ensure enough "food" for the seedling when it grows the tap root followed by a shoot that bears leaves and becomes the tree's trunk.

As long as you can water the tree, it should be fine.

The best time to do this would be during the winter between mid December and late March when the tree is dormant.

Yes, it will grow to be a healthy sapling if treated well.

White oaks produce new growth of 10 to 15 feet in a span of 10 to 12 years, and despite growing slowly, they enjoy long lives of over 100 years. Southern red oak trees, on the other hand, grow at moderate to fast rates, reaching full heights of 70 to 80 feet over a period of 20 years.

As long as the container is large enough that it doesn't strangle the roots of the sapling, yes. Usually as long as you keep replanting the sapling in a larger container as needed, it should be fine.

No, not yet, that would stunt its growth. Branches will come later.

It is best to do so shortly after harvest, in the months when it is colder outside. By planting the acorns as the weather warms in the spring, you will increase the chance that it survives. Besides the obvious weather related benefits, there are a lot of other fresh growing saplings, buds, and young green grasses, so your oaks will be less likely to be eaten.

The root will sprout first. That part of the tree comes from the pointed end of the acorn (opposite from the capped end).

Down, because the root sprouts before the rest of the seedling starts growing.

As long as you keep replanting it into bigger pots when the roots outgrow them, you should be able to keep it potted. Don't keep it in a pot too long, though, because eventually the oak will need nutrients from outdoor soil.

Yes. I had a hole made by a stake about two years ago. Watered it, filled it in to two or three inches and added 3 pecans and one acorn. The acorn came up within a month after planting and the tree is now about in third year growth and 50+ inches tall. A pecan came up 3 months later same location and is now like a little sister to the scarlet oak tree.

The picture is wrong. It shows an acorn with just a small root out the pointed end and upside down, exposed to the air, not buried under soil. This root will try to grow straight down as if pulled by gravity. You can plant it pointing down or on its side, as it would usually be positioned in nature. It should be planted under about an inch of soil. The way the picture shows it will result in the root being damaged by drying in the air.

An oak seedling is always OK to plant, and the earlier the better--at least for the tree's sake. I'm not sure how this relates to your oak porch, unless you think the roots of the oak will interfere with the foundation or its construction, which might be typical of any tree.

Spring is ideal, but they can be planted year-round.

Trees feed off both sunlight and nutrients from the soil. Fertilizer can be added, but should be done cautiously and using only one recommended for oak, as quick growth can result in a weak tree.

The capped end is where the root comes out, so if you are planting an acorn, put the capped end facing downward into the dirt.

It's possible, but the branches can be fractured pretty easily, so I wouldn’t. Its roots are also sensitive to pruning. But some people do turn them into bonsai plants, you would just have to be careful with them.

Red oaks grow faster, and will get to 20 feet in about 5 years. White oaks are slower, it will take them about 30 years to get to 20 feet.

Consult a local nursery for this type of specific information, but the tree should be compatible with the environment in which it is planted.

If it's fall and your oak tree is deciduous, then yes--though often with a young deciduous oak tree some of the leaves actually stay on and are green. It may be that there's a small broken branch. But if the main stem is not brittle, it should be alive.