Where can I get an Oak tree ?

MungoMan

I have a new house, with a big garden. I have very little money. In fact I have much less than zero euros in my bank account.

I want an Oak tree for my garden.

Firstly, how far from the house should it be sown to be sure that the roots will never be a problem ?

Secondly, I know Oak is a native species. Where can I get one for free ?
I'm hoping they naturalise everywhere when the acorns germinate, am I correct in thinking this ?
How do garden centres grow oak trees (vegatative propagation or with seeds )? I know the seeds need stratification etc.

Something which is half a meter tall is fine (or less). I can wait for it to grow, I dont want instant effect. What's important is how it looks 20 years from now. I'm sure it'll be 3 or 4 meters high by then.

I sound like a cheap skate (apologies), I just want a tiny oak tree for free !

Velvet shank

Not too sure off top of my head on the distance frrom house stuff Mungo, but on your other points.... oaks are simple to raise from acorns and I'd imagine thats where all nursery stock comes from. As you say, they germinate and spread easily enough of their own accord, but depending on location, most or all seedlings may be grazed out of it by livestock (or deer or whatever) before they've barely raised a leaf above the soil. Best thing is to collect ripe acorns yourself (from about late september) and keep them safe from mice and other creatures, who can make short work of a large bag of them. I usually keep them over winter in a pot (protected by wire). A hessian bag is often advised also. Again, this should be safe from pests. It's best not to put too many into the one bag or large pot as they may heat up and germinate too quickly. In spring, I usually put each acorn into a 1 litre milk carton in fairly light soil; anything too heavy seems to retard growth. They're fine in that for a year, after which you can plant them out or grow on in a larger container (like a 2liter milk carton!)

The trick in collecting acorns is to get them before they dry out (or before they are damaged by mice/squirrels etc). Discard any that float in a bucket of water. Retain the nice plump green ones and you should get a very high germination rate the following spring. They don't require any special conditions - exposure to the prevailing elements does nicely.

There are 2 native oaks, Quercus robur and Q. petraea (and also hybrids of the two), which may be an important consideration, as they tend to occupy different niches - the former is found chiefly in lowlands and on richer soil, whereas the latter is usually found on acidic soils and in mountainous terrain.....and no need to apologise for being a 'cheap skate', raising your own will give you a certain satisfaction that no trip to the garden centre can replicate:)

MungoMan

Velvet shank wrote: »

Not too sure off top of my head on the distance frrom house stuff Mungo, but on your other points.... oaks are simple to raise from acorns and I'd imagine thats where all nursery stock comes from. As you say, they germinate and spread easily enough of their own accord, but depending on location, most or all seedlings may be grazed out of it by livestock (or deer or whatever) before they've barely raised a leaf above the soil. Best thing is to collect ripe acorns yourself (from about late september) and keep them safe from mice and other creatures, who can make short work of a large bag of them. I usually keep them over winter in a pot (protected by wire). A hessian bag is often advised also. Again, this should be safe from pests. It's best not to put too many into the one bag or large pot as they may heat up and germinate too quickly. In spring, I usually put each acorn into a 1 litre milk carton in fairly light soil; anything too heavy seems to retard growth. They're fine in that for a year, after which you can plant them out or grow on in a larger container (like a 2liter milk carton!)

The trick in collecting acorns is to get them before they dry out (or before they are damaged by mice/squirrels etc). Discard any that float in a bucket of water. Retain the nice plump green ones and you should get a very high germination rate the following spring. They don't require any special conditions - exposure to the prevailing elements does nicely.

There are 2 native oaks, Quercus robur and Q. petraea (and also hybrids of the two), which may be an important consideration, as they tend to occupy different niches - the former is found chiefly in lowlands and on richer soil, whereas the latter is usually found on acidic soils and in mountainous terrain.....and no need to apologise for being a 'cheap skate', raising your own will give you a certain satisfaction that no trip to the garden centre can replicate:)

Yeah of course, there is the satisfaction in being knowledgeable enough to grow a tree from a seed !

Thanks for your excellent answer....exactly what I need to know, I'll just have to wait until the autumn to get my acorns, and start from there. Looking forward to it. Strangely enough, where I live, there are lots of beech, ash, sycamore, Horse chesnut everywhere, I haven't seen any oaks.....I'll find one somewhere ! Of course I won't steal the acorns, I'll ask the owner of the oak tree can I buy a few !

Goodne

Hi, it was national tree week a fortnight ago & local councils gave out trees, mostly to residents associations. Try ringing your local council to see if they have any left over. I got oaks, beech & ash off Laois Co. Co. for our estate.

bbam

If you visit any of the Coilte Forest Parks in the autumn you can gather away at your hearts content. My daughter and I have a small collection of chestnut and sycamore trees growing from seed we collected... We have 2 french oak trees from acorns we collected on holidays in France..
Its easy and great fun..

-Corkie-

I have two massive oak trees on my site. I had loads of small oak tree plants growing in my gutters every year. I should plant them as opposed to throwing them away.

magicbastarder

MungoMan wrote: »

Yeah of course, there is the satisfaction in being knowledgeable enough to grow a tree from a seed !

fortunately with oak, you don't need to be knowledgeable. i just collected about 20 acorns in balrath wood, plut them in pots in the autumn and probably 80% of them germinated.

but you might be able to get a bare root oak in a garden centre for no more than a few bob. plus, in 20 years, i'd hope it'd be taller than 10 foot...