Emergency help

[Jenny]

i have two oaks growing from acorns and know a key factor in their future is developin strong roots. I can't get deep pots to encourage root growth and am in dire need of these. Most mainland firms won't deliver (except at huge charge (that's why CJ is such a gem)) and at over £66 plus an additional 122 mileage one way to the nearest garden centre that sells such pots, it's out of my price bracket. Please, please please does anyone know of a retail outlet that will deliver to UK (not UK mainland only) that can help

[Birdman]

Hello Jenny.
Although I am not near enough to help, you could use a 'search engine' to help you, or perhaps if you were to make contact with:
www.woodland-trust.org.uk (http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk) .. I feel sure they would put you in the right direction, or advise you of their Scottish counterparts..

Is there any breweries near you, maybe you could buy some old barrels from them.
OK, only ideas but I wish you luck...maybe a old water butt might suffice..

John

[Jenny]

John, Thanks for that - will ring tomorrow to see if they can help. :) Local Forestry Commission people have tried to be helpful but not come up with anything.

The mention of a brewery made me laugh - we have got one, but it's only just started up and no old barrels! The oaks are in half barrels already - needed width as well as depth - and root system has seriously spread (good) . I'm really hopeful for their future seeing they're only 20 cms high at the moment - just need to keep Bambi at bay! They're almost of an age to plant out, but can't do that till I get my land back from next door neighbour who is dragging his feet a bit!

Will post response as sure there's other folks rescueing wee saplings from the bulldozers! Jenny

[Birdman]

Hi again Jenny

I would have thought your local brewery would have been only too pleased to create some friendly repour with the villagers...lol...maybe a smile and a wink to your local publican..LOL might bring some results (just teasing)

As for the local forrestry commission, I am somewhat surprised, mind you, they can only work within their guidelines...but alas.

By all accounts though Jenny, it seems like they are ready to be planted out for keeps, if like our area, we have children spending a day out in grounds of some woodland-trust property ( all regulated by adults ) planting such saplings....as a thought if nothing else works, try donating them to some cause or of a 'long lost relative' or friend..

Stay happy.
John

[Jabber]

Hi Jenny, have you not considered just putting them in the ground? I have an oak in my little hedge and it must be 15-20 years old, I let it grow till it was about 6ft tall then cut out the growing tip so it would bush out a bit and it now gets a trim every 12-18 months just to keep it under control. Also if you want a nice specimen for a big pot it is better to let them grow in the ground to thicken up (which they do a lot quicker than pot grown oaks) then when its looking good you can transfer it to a big pot, before you plant it though it's important to bury a piece of slate or similar underneath it this stops it putting down a tap root and makes it easier to dig up later on.:)

[Birdman]

Hello Jabber / Jenny
All sounds very well Jabber but with respect, I think the roots will or would be thicker and more deeply rooted than one might imanage..not tried it so do not know,,incidently, roots creep sideways untill they find deeper soil..
Good luck to you both..another thing I would mention..keep well clear of property or of brick walls..

Cheers..

[Jabber]

Hi Birdman, I agree that given time the roots would find their own way down but this method is a tried and tested method for fattening bonsai and giving them more wieght. The secret is not to leave the tree in the ground for to long, say 2-3 years then lift it and either trim the roots and replant it or put it into a pot. The difference in growth compared to a pot grown specimen is quite a lot, once potted up the growth will slow down the more the roots grow and restrict it, it's why bonsai enthusiasts trim the roots regularly so as to promote healthy growth.
There is a saying that I like to apply to trees 'As above, so below' so if you have an oak hedge close to the house it will do no more damage than a privet hedge, because you keep it at a set hieght it will need less roots to sustain it.

Cheers :)

[Birdman]

Hello Jabber, My-oh-My!, thank you for your information, most enlightening, and for me - a first, Following the same idea as of growing bonsai trees, and here's me thinking they were a given spices from Japan and that was their natural height...( how little I knew )...On that assumption then the common oak and of the other trees could be cultivated the same way.
Well done and many thanks:)

[Jabber]

I gave some bonsai to a neighbour after becoming fed up with them, they were all native trees, Hawthorn, Birch, Elm, Oak etc unfortunately she thought that if she planted them in her garden they would stay small...I did warn her honest :rolleyes:

[Birdman]

Oh dear...little did she know...oh well, doing her part for conservation and the greenhouse gasses..:D :D

[Jabber]

They attract lots of birds as well which is good for me and my bino's :D

[Kerry L]

Hi all, I know this is an old-ish thread - but I've only just read it. Jenny, I agree with Jabber with regard to oak as a hedge. On holiday in Cornwall, the cottage that we were renting had an oak hedge about 3ft from the house. It was great, there were feeders dotted around it (owners were next door) and the birds were loving it. It was great entertainment for us to see the birds so close and happily feeding while we were having breakfast a yard away. The hedge was no more than 2ft wide, and about 5ft high, so quite manageable, and no sign of large roots as the trunks were no bigger than my pyracantha at the side of my house. Whatever you do don't let oaks get out of hand - our one is lethal in autumn, dropping bombs on my head when I'm hanging out washing or weeding - it was dreadful this year, builders hat required for so many acorns! Then the odd branches drop off too - some quite big. Do the deer eat acorns? You don't want to attract Bambi and mates.

Regards, Kerry

[georgie]

Hi

Interestingly (!) I've just been reading a book about 'Ogham' (Old Celtic alphabet/calendar where each letter/month was also represented by a bird and tree) and it says that if the oak leaves rustle when you go near the tree it likes you. However, if it is menacingly quiet, then beware - it may drop acorns or even branches on you. Apparently if they're really mean they follow you around, but stop when you turn and look at them! :eek:

Ooer er, Kerry, it sounds like your tree bears a grudge....!

Anyway, apparently the bird associated with the oak is the wren. I'm seeing a wren in our garden more and more regularly these days - a sign that winter is on its way. I wish there was a way to provide food they like - they don't even seem to go for the mealworms I put out but just skulk in the undergrowth. I've tried putting out gratings of cheese (as advised in one book) under the plants but I don't really know if they ever eat them.

[Kerry L]

Hi Georgie
interesting folklore. I can't have upset my tree - I hugged it once!:eek: Then I decided that was taking things too far, so I talk to the noisier things in the garden instead.:o Thankfully it doesn't hate me enough to stalk me around the garden - perhaps it doesn't like me because we had it pruned last year. Well, that's gratitude for you - it is supposed to strengthen the trees! Maybe I'll give it the occasional pat to get on it's good side - or it likes the pigeons that I have been squirting in it's branches!
With regard to the wrens, I think it has been so mild that there is still plenty of food available. This appears to be the same for all the other birds - even the pigeons have dwindled (thankfully). The berries in the garden usually have been scoffed by now, but there are loads still up for grabs. Our wren had a bit of a bee in it's bonnet yesterday morning - probably a cat in the garden, but the bird is usually hopping around in the undergrowth. Some of the annuals are still flowering in sheltered spots, so there might be plenty of greenfly hiding under the leaves for it to eat.
The only bird I've seen using the bird bath is a blackbird, and he likes to get his shower in early.
I'm off hunting for ancestors now.

Regards, Kerry

[Jenny]

Hi, folks, am just catching up from weekend away in the snow in Dumfries & Galloway - looked really lovely and bambis all over the place - not so funny was having a 4x4 sideways at 20mph, nor having to tow other marshals' cars!

Kerry, Jabber - oak hedge not possible where I want the hedge because of soil depth and rocks! However, have solved problem temporarily as distillery were chucking some old barrels and I swiped one! When oak tree goes into position, can use said barrel for tatties!

Kerry, when hungry, deer will eat anything vegetarian! But Bambi seems to have found a more favourable location the other side of the river at present - our pharmacist is doing his head in! And one of the B&Bs there found all her hanging baskets and window boxes filled with winter flowers demolished! :eek:

Georgie - my oak must like me! I confess to talking to it! And Kerry - if you've spare acorns you can donate them to me - I'll happily try and nurture them and with luck some will germinate and we can plant them with the forestry - they're planting lots of native trees rather than sitka etc. now. Jenny R, Tobermory, Isle of Mull should find me!