I'm getting acorns shipped to me, says they were collected 3 months ago but are fresh. I read if they dry out they won't germinate. Besides looking, how can I tell if the embryo is still alive and not dryed out so I know which to plant right away?

Looks like floating them in water and visual inspection are good indicators.
http://sactree.com/pages/345
http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/colle...

Seedfork said:Looks like floating them in water and visual inspection are good indicators.
http://sactree.com/pages/345
http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/colle...

Thank you Larry!

Oh my gosh! I have zillions all over the ground around my home. The deer love them.

Just curious, Keith, what do you do with acorns?

I can send you all the water oak, white oak, and pin oak acorns you want in the fall. The squirrels won't be happy though.

GardenGoober said:Oh my gosh! I have zillions all over the ground around my home. The deer love them.

Just curious, Keith, what do you do with acorns?

I give them to the squirrels and birds but rarer species like Burr or Sawtooth acorns I got im growing. Oak trees are few and far between mostly maples, so come fall birds and squirrels really don't have much to eat. My grandma owns a property with so many oak trees she got about 5 garbage bags full but she won't give me any

drdawg said:I can send you all the water oak, white oak, and pin oak acorns you want in the fall. The squirrels won't be happy though.

The squirrels about ate us out of house and home at our last house (rafters, wiring, insulation for nests, fascia, soffits, and so on) so I'm no longer fond of the little suckers.

keithp2012 said:
... so come fall birds and squirrels really don't have much to eat.

Hmmm... what a shame. I feel bad for the birds, not so much for the squirrels.

keithp2012 said:My grandma owns a property with so many oak trees she got about 5 garbage bags full but she won't give me any

Well that's not very nice. [And here I go again with the same question...] What does SHE do with them?!!

That's a good question, Tori. Five garbage bags full of acorns. Holy cow!

Keep in mind I said the squirrels would not be happy. I did not say I like them, though at times they are fun to watch. I trapped and "relocated" 24 of them last spring/early summer (as well as two coons, three opossums, and lots of birds by accident), so its not like I want to keep them around. I would allow them to raid my bird feeders but draw the line when they begin to destroy my valuable orchids. Unfortunately, I have several back again. Hopefully these are new ones, not the ones I relocated five miles out of town. It looks like I will be doing some more trapping.

drdawg said:That's a good question, Tori. Five garbage bags full of acorns. Holy cow!

Keep in mind I said the squirrels would not be happy. I did not say I like them, though at times they are fun to watch. I trapped and "relocated" 24 of them last spring/early summer (as well as two coons, three opossums, and lots of birds by accident), so its not like I want to keep them around. I would allow them to raid my bird feeders but draw the line when they begin to destroy my valuable orchids. Unfortunately, I have several back again. Hopefully these are new ones, not the ones I relocated five miles out of town. It looks like I will be doing some more trapping.

We were told by a professional trapper that you have to relocate them at least ten, but preferably 20, miles to keep them from finding their way back.

Itts better then having orkin " take care of it" at least.



On the plus side I did find a squrrel repellent that actually works.

GardenGoober said:
Hmmm... what a shame. I feel bad for the birds, not so much for the squirrels.


Well that's not very nice. [And here I go again with the same question...] What does SHE do with them?!!

Throws them out

Yikes, I am too lazy to drive 20 miles to "relocate" those squirrels. They will just have to keep coming back until they tire of it.

Find a microwave tower with woodpeckers nearby and you'll have all the acorns you could ever want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Xeramtheum said:Find a microwave tower with woodpeckers nearby and you'll have all the acorns you could ever want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

keithp2012 said:

Throws them out

SERIOUSLY?!!! Sheesh!! I'm sorry.

Bring the squirrels up here -- I like them

I relocate mine, Sandy. I wish I could relocate them to MI but that's just too far to drive!

Ken, I've heard they have these newfangled contraptions called "airplanes" ... not sure if they accept squirrels as passengers, though!

Do you really want to pay air-fare for my squirrels, Sandy?