Oaks in the UK rarely sucker. You are right about the tap root though.
If you reduce the top considerably they usually transplant successfully.
I've not had a failure from three very large collected specimens (4" to
8" trunks). The trick was to dig around at a good distance from the drip
line of the canopy, then undercut and sever the tap root. All of mine
then went into the growing beds in the ground for a few years of
recovery and slow refinement before potting up.

Your success will depend really on any differences between Q robur,
petraea and American oaks.

Cheers

Kev Bailey
Vale Of Clwyd, North Wales

Subject: [IBC] Collecting Oaks

After a collecting hike yesterday I found an area at the top of a ridge
with a number of native oaks. They are all about 2-4 feet high with 2-4
inch trunks that have had their tops broken at some point. It is an
area dominated by oaks about 10-15 feet tall. I have always heard oaks
are notorious for long tap roots and being uncollectable. The small
trees are also within suckering distance, 20-30 feet from a large tree.
Is there any use in trying to collect any of these oaks or is there
something to look for in a collectable specimen?
Brian in Tucson Zone 12


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