planting acorns?

[MammaG]

We live in zone 6 (I think?). I've been reading my kids stories about root children and seed babies. I'd like to plant an acorn this Autumn with them.

If I plant an acorn in a pot and put it on the stairs under the metal bulkhead for the Winter (to protect it from hungry squirrels), what do you think the chances would be that an oak sapling would emerge when we bring the pot inside in the Spring? We're going to do some bulbs like that, too, for forcing.

Also...I have clay pots. Will they survive that or will they break in the slightly-protected cold?

Thanks!

[Erinz]

Is it an acorn you harvested locally? If so I can't imagine why, given the proper culture, it wouldn't go for it. I'm in California and live under live oaks and we have no shortage of volunteer seedlings in any and all pots. I find the seeds really seem to do well under leaf litter from their parents as a mulch. Kinda sweet really

Not sure about the clay pot, we don't get a hard enough freeze here to worry about it. Maybe pick a plastic one just in case? Nurseries often have discarded freebies laying about somewhere.

[cristeen]

Live oak seeds sprout like mad. But true oak acorns do not. We had a huge oak tree in our yard growing up and i never once saw a seedling. Lots of acorns though. I believe the acorns have to be scarified in order to sprout. I'd do some research on acorn speouting.