simy1 wrote:
McGerm wrote:
Can I plant these out into the yard now here in PA if I keep them well
watered? If not now, when?


the sooner the better. They have a tremendous taproot which is now
severely confined, so you are weakening them. Oaks, as well as
chestnuts, are best planted directly from seed. Choose their final
location now because they can not be replanted elsewhere (due to said
taproot).

Western oaks (e.g., valley white oak (Quercus lobata), coast live oak
(Q. agrifolia)) do not do well in gardens. They require a dry summer
and a wet winter (not real wet). The irrigation required for gardens
during our long, hot summers will eventually kill western oaks through
root rot. They also do not appreciate other plants in their root zones.
This can be overcome by cutting away the main tap root while the tree
is still a seedling, which is done for nursery-grown oaks. Then,
western oaks do quite well in gardens.

I don't know if any of this applies to eastern oaks.

See http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_oak_acorn.html.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/