Oak hedge

The Waxbill

Is it possible to make a hedge out of oak trees and could i grow them from acorns or would they take forever to grow?

looksee

I have never seen a hedge of oak trees, and while it isn't completely impossible, I would not think it would be very successful. They are very slow to mature, and while they are growing your original idea that they should be a hedge would probably be forgotten and it would end up as a solid wall of unhappy oak trees.

Yes, oak trees grow from acorns - that's how they do it in the wild, after all, but you would be a long time waiting for a hedge!

BoutYe

An acorn sprouted in my back garden 2 years ago and I have kept it just to see how it gets on. You'll be waiting a very long time if you want it to be a hedge. Mine was attacked by slugs early on so maybe that has hampered the growth rate a little but it wouldn't be any more than 6 to 8 inches at the minute although I havent looked at it for a while.

Lasereye

simple answer, no

The Waxbill

Ok that's that then, thanks for all the replies.

Prowetod

What time of the year should you plant acorns into a pot? Should they be grown in a pot? Have the acorns even fallen off the trees yet?

I would like to try and grow a few.

looksee

I have seen some fallen acorns, but they looked a bit young, I'd say they were knocked off by the wind and rain. Give them another couple of weeks, then I would dig over an out of the way bit of garden, scatter some acorns, cover them, mark the area and leave them to get on with it.

magicbastarder

yeah, they're dead easy to grow. collect them in a few weeks, stick em in a pot, and wait till the spring. they send down a tap root, so you want them in a good eight inches of soil. plant out the ones which germinate.

if you wanted an oak hedge, you might try coppicing it, but afair it doesn't coppice well.
if you want a hedge, why not a hazel hedge? it'll form a hedge easily enough, plus you get to enjoy the nuts.