Windsor Great Park: John Craven visits ancient old oak tree
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Autumn is the perfect time to try growing an oak tree, and all you need is a few acorns to do it. While these classic trees are notorious for taking years to grow, they will struggle to develop at all if the acorns are damaged. However, according to the experts at The Conservation Volunteers, there is one easy hack you can use to separate healthy acorns from damaged ones.
Acorns are the “fruit” of oak trees, each containing a single seed in their tough outer shell.
Despite taking five to six years to become fully self-sustaining oak trees, acorns produce small, attractive plants in just a few months.
Securing a mature oak tree is only possible by checking your acorns after collecting them.
To do this, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) recommended soaking acorns in a bowl to separate the healthy and damaged seeds.
Insect bites, bruising, and rot are all signs that your acorns will fail, though soaking them can help to determine “invisible” damage inside the seeds.
The TCV said: “If you have a lot of acorns, you can put them into a bucket (or buckets) of water.
“If they float, they may not grow, but this isn’t foolproof! Many that float may still grow.”
Another way to check acorns for damage is to “squish” the ones that float between your fingers.
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The experts at TVC added: ” If they are firm and look healthy, plant them anyway.”
Planting acorns is easy by using empty yoghurt pots or small containers.
No matter what you use, the pots must have drainage holes in the bottom to help the acorns thrive.
Place a small amount of compost in each pot and place one or two acorns in each one. Layer with soil to protect them from predators, and water well.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), acorns should only be kept in pots until the roots emerge through the drainage holes.
At this point, they should be transplanted into larger pots.
The RHS said: “Tall pots are better than squat ones to allow the roots to elongate. Repeat this as often as necessary.”
Potted acorns will take around three years to outgrow their container until they need to be planted in the ground.
The Conservation Volunteers said: “If you are sowing outside, sow them in good soil to a depth of 5cm and firm.
“Aim for a density of about 100 plants in a square metre. This means sowing about 200 acorns.”
Squirrels and birds are particularly prone to eating acorns, so you should take extra steps to protect your young oak trees.
Covering the soil bed with a wire mesh will suffice to keep them out.
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