Members of the white oak group will germinate before winter while the those in the black (red) oak group will germinate in the spring. The easiest way to germinate acorns, however, is to plant them outside during the fall in a seed bed 6-12' (15-30 cm) apart covered with. Both northern red oak and Southern red oak have a 30-90 day pre-chilling requirement. Shumard oak has a 30-45 day pre-chilling requirement. The acorns can be placed in a plastic bag containing moist sand and peat and then put in a refrigerator (1-5✬) until the appropriate chill time is reached or the acorns start germinating. The black (red) oak group, the oaks with pointy lobed leaves, almost all require a cold period of 30 to 90 days before they will germinate. macrocarpa), do not require a cooling period to germinate and will germinate in three to five weeks after planting.

The white oak group, the oaks with smooth lobed leaves, with only a couple exceptions (like Q. Hence if the acorns are being stored for any length of time, put them in a heavy duty sealed plastic bag (4-10 mils) and place in a refrigerator (1-3✬). The acorns should then be dumped into a bucket of water, and any acorns that float should be discarded.Īcorns do not store well.

Any loose caps or twigs should be removed. Most of what follows is widely applicable, so we need not worry which tree we are dealing with.Īcorns should be collected promptly since many types start rotting, drying out or germinating shortly after falling from the tree. A Texan, however, might reasonably use the term to refer to Texas red oak ( Quercus buckleyi), Southern red oak ( Quercus falcata), or Shumard oak ( Quercus shumardii). There are large number of different red oaks, but, usually, when people say red oak they are referring to Northern red oak ( Quercus rubra syn.

Planting black oak acorns