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Hybrid Oak?
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Posted by Collin001 none (My Page) on Mon, Jan 9, 12 at 14:02
| Hello I have a bit of a dilemma. I had the opportunity this fall to pick up some acorns which were lying on the ground. The tree itself was unusually straight with fairly attractive bark. It was late fall and the tree had lost its leaves.
I'm not sure whether I've picked up a hybrid oak or a filbert. The leaves are closer to filbert but the tree is definitely not bushy.
The largest of the seedlings pictured below has the smallest root. Go figure. The tap roots are enormous on these things. I was thinking the nuts never had the traditional oak caps on them. So far the leaves strike me more as a filbert than oak. The leaves are becoming more jagged by the day. Still this leaf shape is nothing like a bur oak.
The parent tree is single trunk in form. Not bushy in the least with no spindly branches. All branches are very stout like oak. I asked the owner of the property how long the tree has been there and I was surprised by the answer. Only 14 years from seed and it is hovering around 12 feet in height.
The owner complained that all the nuts germinate every year. I found that hard to believe as all the acorns I've taken over the years were sterile duds. She said 95 out of every 100 acorns germinate. I didn't believe her but played along and she gave me some off the ground. Now that all six seedlings have germinated I'm inclined to believe her.
There aren't many oaks in Regina. There are no tree type hazels to the best of my knowledge in town. The oldest trees are the watered ones by the museum and legislature. We're zone 2b so I didn't think either would grow well here. Do you recognize this oak? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Collin001, was the bark of that tree deeply grooved and cork like, if so it very likely is a bur oak. Your seedling strongly resembles that of the ones I had grown out many years ago ... Terrance |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| I'd have to say yes on that. The appearance of the bark was what caught my eye and brought me to the property in the first place. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| It looks exactly like a bur oak to me. They're very common here in MB. The seedling leaves don't show the characteristic rounded edges yet. They should have no trouble whatsoever in zone 2b, actually I'm not sure why they're so common here and not in SK. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| My feeling is that this is a burr oak. They typically look like that until they get a few more leaves. Nice trees though, I'm growing two in my backyard. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| They generally grow quite slowly and can live a long, long time. In poor soils they will become stunted and grow low and twisted, and still live a long time. In good conditions they can get quite large. I have a photo of a nice specimen in an old cemetery. Can post if interested. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| I wondered if I was simply looking at a juvenile leave pattern. I'd like to see a specimen photo northspruce. I thought about planting one of these trees at the very end of the property city permitting of coarse. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| I grow lots of them and agree with burr oak..there are some pictures in link. |
Here is a link that might be useful: oak
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Thanks Konrad, that was helpful. I'm torn between planting in the spring or leaving them grow in containers. Where I am planting will be very exposed to wind and sun and salt. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Containers would be good, perhaps for a couple of years, otherwise it could get lost being so small. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Typical juvenile oak leaves.....not unique to Bur Oak but given your location, it is the most likely choice. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| In recent years, many bur oaks have planted in Spruce Grove and growing rather quickly likely due to the good soil they're situated in. The trees vary somewhat in form and fullness with a few of them being extremely attractive. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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This is the one in the cemetery. Taken in spring obviously when it was just leafing out. They often don't end up this symmetrical, this is a particularly nice one IMO.
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RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| That's a mighty big tree northspruce. Nice. I wonder how long it took to get that size. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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Yea..this is a mighty nice oak tree northspruce.
My estimate 50 plus years...perhaps 75? I have some now about 15 years and I see in spring when they flower that honey bees are on them, so I'm extremely pleased with this,...I never knew this would happen when planted. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| At a guess it's right around 100 years old. The cemetery was consecrated in 1910 and the tree is in the middle like it was planted on purpose - but who knows. |
RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Pleased to note a third one will be up in the next day. Newer development on oldest is starting to look more like the adult leaf. I guess in all the fuss I got excited. First time growing these things after all. :) Thanks for bearing with me! 
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RE: Hybrid Oak?
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| Update: All 6 came up. 100% germination. Here is a shot of what they look like in spring. Currently looking for larger containers. 
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