Wee Trees Bonsai Help Forum Advice for all
http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/

How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?
http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18739
Page 1 of 2

Author:  sputnik [ 08 Oct 2019, 09:44 ]
Post subject:  How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

I was given some Quercus faginea acorns earlier this year and I was very sceptical about their chances of germination as I’m aware they shouldn’t be allowed to dry out and they had dried out because I could hear the seed rattling within the acorn.I did my usual soak between damp kitchen paper but wasn’t at all hopeful. A good month later when I shook the acorn there was no rattle which suggested the seed was swelling and eventually some time later a root emerged. I now have three little Portuguese oaks. The other acorns haven’t germinated but neither have they rotted so I’ll leave them for a while longer in case of further miracles. Is this likely?

ImageUntitled by Sputnik184, on Flickr

Author:  bluesky [ 14 Oct 2019, 23:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

Hi Sputnik, I can't answer your question because I haven't tried growing these from acorns...
...but I do have two q.faginea, both collected (not by me). I can tell you they are similar to holm oaks in many respects except they are deciduous / marcescent. They are fine in any soil but I have read that in the wild they are often found in chalky areas. I wonder if that is simply for lack of competition in chalky soil, or if it's because the roots actually favour the very alkaline soil. Anyway. They also like more humid soil than holm oaks - where I live the oaks are almost completely holm because of the extreme dry heat in summer. So yes maybe the q.faginea acorns need humidity. On the other hand they survive the extreme heat in summer and their acorns drop before holms so my guess is that they can probably survive drying. I have grown several holm oaks from dry acorns, so I guess you probably can with "quejigos" too.

Not surprisingly, the Spanish don't call it a Portuguese Oak, they call it quejigo, or Valencian Oak (Roble Valenciano).
Image

Author:  sputnik [ 16 Oct 2019, 07:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

Thanks for that info. I hadn’t thought about the Mediterranean oaks behaving this way but it makes a lot of sense that they would need to withstand drying and remain viable. I hadn’t experienced this with my holm oaks as the acorns were all collected fresh.

Are the leaves quite variable on the Quercus faginea? Your tree has a much less incised shape much more like the ilex and the suber while the leaves on mine are much more like the robur.

Author:  bluesky [ 17 Oct 2019, 22:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

There is some variation on mine but not too much. As I understand it the leaf shape depends on the maturity of the tree. Certainly for ilex it is amazingly different, today I was out walking and took a couple of pics that show it clearly.

Here, you can see this ilex has loads of new trees 1-2 years in the ground around it from dropped acorns.
ImageHolm oak leaves, young and old by Dave bluesky, on Flickr

A close-up of the leaves makes it seem like two different species..
Attachment:
20191017_114837_resize_76.jpg

Attachment:
20191017_234218_resize_2.jpg

unfortunately I can't do the same comparison for Faginea because I dont know of any full size near me.

Author:  bluesky [ 17 Oct 2019, 22:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

And for interest I also took a pic of my larger faginea leaves next to a 3 year old ilex:
ImageQuercus faginea (left) and quercus ilex (right) by Dave bluesky, on Flickr

Author:  sputnik [ 11 Nov 2019, 12:38 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

sputnik wrote:
Thanks for that info. I hadn’t thought about the Mediterranean oaks behaving this way but it makes a lot of sense that they would need to withstand drying and remain viable. I hadn’t experienced this with my holm oaks as the acorns were all collected fresh.


Thought I might try some other Mediterranean oaks if I don’t have to worry so much about very fresh seed. I’ve put some Quercus Virginiana acorns to soak now as I feel the American live oaks may cope with drying out in a similar way. I expect the Californian oaks might be a good bet but they don’t seem so easily available

Author:  oakrod [ 11 Nov 2019, 12:44 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

even the milleniam seed bank struggles with acorns.
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/cyro ... n-pictures

Author:  sputnik [ 11 Nov 2019, 17:19 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

Interesting. :Big Thumb:

I have also put some Quercus palustris and some Quercus rubra Acorns to soak along with my Quercus faginea ones that are sprouting well. I love acorns. Germination is so satisfying because if they get that far you have a good chance.

Author:  oakrod [ 11 Nov 2019, 18:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

i always get fresh acorns and keep them moist indoors in a takaway pot and when a root shows i plant in a pot and leave in the greenhouse .. some sprout leaves before winter and some dont.. i have lucombes this year and some turkey oaks and about 100 english oak that a friend collected

Author:  sputnik [ 11 Nov 2019, 19:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: How long can an acorn remain viable without germination?

oakrod wrote:
i always get fresh acorns and keep them moist indoors in a takaway pot and when a root shows i plant in a pot and leave in the greenhouse .. some sprout leaves before winter and some dont.. i have lucombes this year and some turkey oaks and about 100 english oak that a friend collected


That’s pretty much what I do with mine except I put them between sheets of wet kitchen paper until they sprout when they are planted. With English oaks I don’t have to wait for them to germinate as the bottom of the garden is covered with naturally germinating acorns from three large trees that grow along the boundary stream.

Lucombe Oaks sound quite fun. Interesting hybrid.

Page 1 of 2 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/