Why I Oughta...

Last Fall, I collected a few dozen acorns off off a small stand of upright, columnar Oak trees that are planted in a parkway near our downtown.  On many of my early morning walks, I'd stop by, see if the acorns were 'loose' and then grab a few before they fell to the ground.  Our Oaks in our yard last year threw off A HUGE amount of acorns - a mast year.  These columnar oaks were simliar. I identified these as Regal Prince Oak trees and here's a look at some of the acorns as I collected them in September 2023 .   In November, I water-tested them (if they floated, I tossed them), then buried them in wet sand for a long Winter's nap via cold stratification .  I also grabbed three large Chinese Chestnuts and did the same - tested, then tucked-in the fridge for four+ months.   In 2022, I collected a wide variety of acorns, but didn't label them.  This year, I went with JUST ONE species - the Regal Prince Oak. Earlier this month, I took the container out of the fridg

Back in September, I showed off a partial flat of some viable Kentucky Coffee Tree Seedlings that I had collected and germinated from seed this Spring.   In that post, I talked about how to overwinter them and explored various methods.  With our climate (Zone 5b), it seemed that the best way was to dig them into the ground to provide insulation over the harsh Winter.  So...that's what I did.  I found a fairly sunny, but protected spot in one of our beds and dug a trench.  I put the flat in the ground, covered the seedlings up with dirt and then put a layer of mulch over the top.   Then I went in for the night.  What happened next?  The damn rabbits ate a bunch of them.  Now, these Kentucky Coffee Trees have - for a long time - a bare trunk and leaflets off of them, so I can't tell if the rabbits ate down the trunks or just the leaflets.   When I figured out what was going on, I grabbed some chicken wire and made a little perimeter fence.  Below, you can see the seedlings (or w