the coolest thing I got for x-mas

[Kali]

guess what these are:






no MFM, they are not poops

these are acorns. what makes them so cool is how I came to have them.


A little less than a year ago the Egyptian Revolution began in Cairo. At the time, my sister was in the country working (archeology). The area was fine but the University that oversees the project decided to pull everybody out and eventually the crew was evacuated through Luxor to Athens. She had a 2 day stay there until her flight home.

These acorns are from the base of the hill where the Parthenon sits. Pretty cool, huh? I hope that I can get at least one to sprout, so if anybody has any advice I would sure appreciate it. I lost an oak my father's father had started in Tucson from an acorn he picked up at his Alma Mater, Mizzou. I still feel so bad about that. He had even taken a sapling he started back to Columbia and there was a dedication ceremony at the planting. I wish mine had lived. It would be 20 years old by now.

Now I will try to start a Mediterranean oak here in southeast Arizona. Wish me luck.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. What a cool story, my dear Kali!

NO Idea on how to get one to sprout...sorry...

Maybe Google it?

Good Luck! It would be fantastic to have it grow up!

[NYC_SKP]

2. Cool, getting them to sprout could be tricky.

not all oaks are alike in what triggers sprouting and promotes growth.

Here's a start:

Getting Started

Choose swollen or plump-looking, mature acorns from healthy trees and pick them off the ground as soon as possible. Whites start sprouting soon after they fall--even if it has started its shoot, you can still collect it.

Put acorns in a plastic bag with an equal amount of leaf mold or peat mix and barley dampen. Close the bag loosely and store in the refrigerator at between 32 to 35 degrees (whites will continue to sprout at between 36 and 39 degrees). Check acorns throughout the winter and keep just barely damp. Acorns need about 1000 hours of low temperature dormancy. Plan to plant your acorns in late April from the 15th to the 20th. You can leave them in the refrigerator and plant as late as July, but an early start will produce stronger seedlings.

http://www.wildbirds.org/oaks/oaks.htm

If possible, I'd look for other resources.

[barbtries]

3. good luck!

i've no advice for you, but i hope the tree grows.

[Denninmi]

4. If you want to try to sprout them, do this:

Take a sharp needle or knife, and carefully make a very small hole in the side of each one -- it just needs to be large enough to penetrate the shell. Do it about halfway between the two pointed ends, so you know that you won't damage the embryo inside. Only go deep enough to be sure you're through the shell, since you don't want to cut into the kernel inside any more than necessary.

Soak them in clean, lukewarm water overnight.

Then, put them into a small bag of moistened, sterile potting media or peat moss, seal the bag (a ziploc would be good for this), and put them into the fridge for about 2 months. NOT the freezer, the fridge, or some other place where they will stay between 33 and 40 degrees for a couple of months. This will "vernalize" the acorns -- tell them they've gone through a winter dormancy, and it is now safe to sprout. Be sure they don't dry out during this time, or they won't make it. You want the mix to be moist but not soupy.

After the 2 months, bring them out, pot them in sterile mix, keep moist, and put them where the soil temp will hold between 65 and 75 -- average household temps are fine. If you're lucky and they are still viable, they should sprout in about a month.

Unfortunately, because they have been held so long, their viability may be diminished, they could be dehydrated or moldy inside, or could have been attacked by weevils or borers as is common with acorns. But certainly worth a try.

I'm kind of guessing on the vernalization requirement. Any temperate zone species of oak would require this, but I'm not sure about a species that would grow in Greece. I know their climate is mild, but they also do get cold enough to have the random blizzard now and again, so I think these oaks would require the cold treatment. The good news is I doubt that the cold would hurt anything if they DIDN'T need it, it would just be a delay in their growth.

Good luck, and let us know if any of them do sprout for you.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. Acorns are oak poops. n/t

[Ptah]

6. Not so, sir.

They are oak eggs.

[MiddleFingerMom]

7. OK(gg) n/t

[Major Nikon]

11. They are oak babies

You should be ashamed for thinking otherwise.

[HopeHoops]

8. Hell, how do you KEEP them from sprouting???

The squirrels bury them EVERYWHERE - including the container plants. We've got oaks and maples (that plant themselves) all over the place, and don't even get me started on the Bradford pear and Rose of Sharon seedlings. Soak them and put them in a loose soil - they'll sprout. Do one at a time. All they need is moist soil with good drainage and weather above 60 degrees (or inside). Unless they're petrified, they should do fine. Keep the seedling in a container until it is 2' tall or at least 1/4" in diameter (1/2" would be better). You probably don't have to mulch it in, but I'm in PA and neither do I.

BTW - my first thought was "eggplant?" until I scrolled down. I grew a variety very similar to that in color and shape some years back, but they were a shitload longer than an inch and a half - more like a foot and a half.

[pacalo]

9. That's awesome, Kali.

I hope you can get them to grow. Oak trees are so beautiful &, because they are so massive when they reach maturity, you certainly have enough space to enjoy several of them. Great history to preserve, too. Wow.

[Lasher]

10. Throw them on the ground and cover them with about an inch of leaves.

At least one should sprout if they're not dried out already.

I wonder why they call the acorns? Why not oak nuts? And why are there no acorn trees? There are walnut trees. And hickory nuts come from hickory trees. What's with that?

Edit: Oops I forgot you're in Arizona. Better put them in the fridge like others upthread have advised.