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Old 06-01-2004, 05:43 PM
David Ross
 
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Default Length of tap root on an oak tree?

"Bruce W.1" wrote:

I've got some acorns soaking in water and I'm starting to see some
action. Now I'm trying to figure out how big of a pot to put them in.
In the spring they will be planted in the ground.

How long of a tap root do these babies make? Or how deep should the pot
be?

Thanks for your help.


It depends on the variety of oak and the environment where you
will plant it.

In 1976, I sprouted acorns from valley white oak (Quercus lobata),
potted them, and then finally moved one of them into the ground.
This tree has a very deep taproot when mature. Also, it cannot
survive where the soil is wet in the summer (e.g., in a garden).
So I pruned the taproot when I moved it from a small pot into a
larger one. The resulting growth of spreading roots made the tree
more adaptive to being watered in a garden.

The tree is now taller than my 2-story house and has dropped
acorns of its own. Two saplings from my oak are now in 5 gallon
cans awaiting planting at a new community center.

For details, see my
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_oak_acorn.html.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

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