How do I sprout Acorns?

[Mike Morris]

In article <478p91$8b3 at portal.gmu.edu>,
   Dale Cabaniss (ECE306) <dcabanis at sodium> wrote:

>I have gathered some acorns from a Willow Oak which I would like to 
germinate.  I have been told that Acorns need to be frozen before they 
will sprout.  Does anyone know about this?  Any info would be 
appreciated.
>
>

Yep, they do need to be frozen, or chilled at the least.  I stuck them 
in the refrigerator for a couple of months and then planted them out 
and had no problems.  I think they also need to "age" a little before 
they will sprout, but a few months of chilling seems to be enough 
time.  I have also grown acorns that were in the freezer compartment 
of the 'fridge successfully.

One catch is not to grow them in small containers -- the roots get 
long quite fast, and those little devils want lots of water.  I lost 
any number by planting them in pots with the result that they ran out 
of root space, sickened and died eventually.

BTW, I have done this with acorns from several Quercus species, so I 
would guess it will work for your Willow Oak.

Mike Morris                     We do not inherit land from our ancestors
Mike.Morris at iplan.co.za         We borrow it from our children.

Ph: +27-21-788-4171 (W)        Cape Town, South Africa        34.40'S 18.30'E
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