The previous post linked to a You Tube video made by a gentleman who has planted Mossy Oak Nativ Nurseries seedlings over the past several years.
The statistics go by kind of quickly, and some folks might not have video capability, so I thought I’d quickly recap his results:
> Swamp chestnut oak, planted autumn 2008 (4 growing seasons in the ground): 8ft 4in tall, produced 6 acorns this year
> Chinquapin oak, planted autumn 2008 (4 growing seasons): 7ft 7in tall, 30 acorns
> Nuttall oak, planted spring 2011 (2 growing seasons): 5ft 5in tall, tree tubes removed and reused June 2012
> Shumard oak, planted spring 2011 (2 growing seasons): 6ft 11in tall, tree tubes removed and reused June 2012
Editor’s note on these last two: Removing and reusing tree tubes is a perfectly legitimate way to get more bang for your buck. However in this case the landowner probably removed the tubes at least one year too early. While impressive the trees would have grown even faster had the tubes been left in place for another year, and of course removing the tubes that soon exposes the newly established trees to rodent damage and buck rub.
Editor‘s note 2: Even so it’s incredibly impressive that the oak trees were TALL enough and STRONG enough that the tree tubes could be removed after just one year! That really shows what I have been saying about how large diameter vented tubes coupled with PVC tree tube stakes produce strong, thick stemmed trees!
> Totten oak (hybrid overcup x swamp chestnut), planted spring 2012 (1 growing season), 44 to 49in tall, emerging from tree tubes in just 6 months
Wow. I never ever get tired of hearing – and in this case seeing – results like that… no matter how common they are!
