How long for acorns to sprout?

Hello folks.
I'm in Wisconsin, and in the fall I collected a large number of white, red, and turkey oak acorns.  The reds and whites were from wild trees--the reds, especially were from some magnificent trees! Those things must have been going on 200 years.  The turkey oak, I had never heard of before but I found it growing as part of a landscape (so it's probably a nursery tree--not ideal).
I cold stratified them in the fridge, after placing them in ziploc bags with damp paper towels for humidity and moisture.  The books say a temp of 32-45F should be sufficient.   I stratified them for around 60 days, then planted them in a mix of recycled potting soil, sand, and compost.  I placed about 30 acorns per plastic storage tote, and the soil was kept evenly moist but not drowning.

I waited, and waited, and waited. When I was about to give up, exactly 1 of the turkey oaks had sprouted, and it had an amazing root ball, considering it only had a short 2" shoot coming out of it.

I uncovered some of the other acorns.  They do not appear to be rotting or moldy.  I've been waiting now for weeks.

So the question is, how long for an acorn to crack, considering it's been cold stratified long enough?  

My brother's house is on a big piece of old agricultural land.  It's now largely weeds/prairie, with a bunch of pines mixed in with some low value trees (box elders, silver maples).   He told me if I could come up with some seedlings, he'd love to put them in.  So I was hoping to start a bunch of oaks.  I already have several walnuts and hickories in, and they are doing well.  I've also started a bunch of apples from seed (yes, I know, they will not produce true to their parents--but I'm mostly going for wildlife food.  Maybe luck out and get some good apples for cider).

Thanks for any info. I realize acorn viability isn't  very good--but I literally have 150 in the ground, and exactly 1 of them sprouted!  How long should I wait before pitching them?  Can it take weeks, or even months?

I have never planted oaks, but the squirrels do. My region really wants to be forest. While I do weed oaks out in the spring, there are many more late late summer and early fall. So, I am thinking months.

Did you pick the acorns off the ground?

Somewhere on the forum, I read that there is a problem with acorns that are on the ground.

I am not sure why though it could be they were too old to sprout.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:I have never planted oaks, but the squirrels do. My region really wants to be forest. While I do weed oaks out in the spring, there are many more late late summer and early fall. So, I am thinking months.

Thanks for the info.  I'll just continue caring for them, and see what happens. As I mentioned, exactly one of them did germinate and is doing well. I have very little invested, so even if I could get a small handful it would be good with me.  

I collected the acorns very fresh (during those times in the fall where if you are quiet, you can actually hear them falling).  Carefully removed any with worm holes, water tested them to throw out the duds.  I stratified them...  I'm not sure what else I could do.

I'll just keep them moist and warm-ish, and see what happens.  It would be a neat legacy--some oaks that would live on for a century.

Anne Miller wrote:Did you pick the acorns off the ground?

Somewhere on the forum, I read that there is a problem with acorns that are on the ground.

I am not sure why though it could be they were too old to sprout.

That would seem strange to me--I mean, they reproduce naturally by simply dropping acorns on the ground.  These mast trees, from what I understand, produce massive amounts of acorns every couple years, in an effort to produce so many the squirrels and deer cannot eat all of them.  That a couple of them, at least, would have a chance at growing.  

I don't really know, it just sounds suspect to me.  

agreed, you can definitely pick up good acorns off the ground. the main thing to avoid is just the very first nuts to fall, since these are frequently aborted before they can fully ripen or fill out. but while the bulk of the mast is falling, you should definitely be able to get good ones.

Two years ago, we brought in about a bushel and a half of acorns, intending to process them, to eat, and never got around to it. They sat on the floor in the tub we collected them in - and Sprouted, right there. I'm not so sure stratification is necessary, and have a feeling it has actually slowed the process for you.

white family oaks almost always sprout fairly quickly in the fall (and thus do not require stratification), but red family (including turkey oak) generally sprout in the spring (and do need stratification).

i always get the best results by giving the seeds/nuts as normal a winter as possible. in or on soil, covered with soil or leaves or other mulch, and experiencing all the freeze/thaw cycles that my winter tends to throw at them. this tote you have them in - where is it? i might expect more problems at indoor temps/ambient humidity.

John Kestell wrote:That would seem strange to me--I mean, they reproduce naturally by simply dropping acorns on the ground.  These mast trees, from what I understand, produce massive amounts of acorns every couple years, in an effort to produce so many the squirrels and deer cannot eat all of them.  That a couple of them, at least, would have a chance at growing.  

I don't really know, it just sounds suspect to me.  

Under my oak trees there are 100s of acorns.  I don't have squirrels to carry them off and bury them so that they can sprout.

I have deer that eat a few of them.

So since I have 100s of acorns and they are laying on the ground, why do they not sprout, naturally?  I have been here since 2013.

I tried to find the thread where I read that about not picking them up off the ground though I have not been able to find it.

I did find this thread that might prove to be helpful to you or others:

John said,  What I am going to do here is to show you how to collect, inoculate, and plant your acorns with no cash investment on your part (well unless you want to buy a bag of potting soil). This is my 3-bucket method.

https://permies.com/t/27089/Starting-oak-trees-acorns

I am sorry that I have not been more helpful as I was just trying to explain why your acorn may not have sprouted.

I spoke too soon--just today I saw 3 more sprouts.  2 reds and 1 white.  Just as I was about to give up and toss the project in the compost bin.

I need to learn the lesson--one of these days--that Mother Nature takes as long as she takes.  

I'm glad I didn't toss the project.  It would be great to have some good strong seedlings ready.  I have a good place to put them, where they should not be bothered for the forseeable future.  With the hickories and walnuts already there, some oaks and some apples (which I'm also growing from seed) it could be a real paradise for wildlife.  They have some nice spruces and pines, access to tall grass and shrubs.  Access to some old stone fence lines.  A really nice, diverse piece of land.

I'll update in a bit, when I get a better idea of how well this will work.

Hi John!
I still have some acorns which have not sprouted. Do you think they are still good? I should have a mix of red and white oak acorns
Thanks!
Ilaria

This isn't much data, but it's what I have: I gathered up a fat bag of red oak acorns 18 months ago and kept them all winter in a ziplock of moist vermiculite. In April '23 only one had a radical. This year I left them in a raised bed and just tossed a couple handfulls in and buried them, I have at least two sprouts that I've found so far while planting vegetables.

John, I have often found trees in the larger house plant pots, that spend the summer on the front porch, (thank you Mr squirrel) then over-wintered in the basement, it's a white oak in the front yard.  In mid-spring the sprout would be several inches tall with the tap root grown to the bottom of the pot.  No freeze/thaw in the basement.

Not sure about the red oaks in the back yard, there are several new sprouts in the flower beds to dig out each spring.  The only bad thing about Mr squirrel, he would often remember the pot he used to bury his acorns in and search for his hidden treasure!!!  Life among the trees.

Peace