Food Plots Oaks - What types would you plant?

[BlountArrow]

If you could only plant (2) or (3) varieties of Oaks on your place what would it be. I'm going to buy a couple hundred and am trying to decide what I'll plant. Unfortunately most of the area they will be planted in is void of oaks completely and any good mast for deer. So, what (2) or (3) varieties would you choose? It seems like the buzz is all around Sawtooths these days but what else; what say you experts?

 

[diamond hunter]

Dwarf chinkapin and chestnuts

 

[Football Hunter]

Dunstan Chestnut and sawtooth.If you wanna see any mast in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Florida Cracker 971]

Dunstan Chestnut & Sawtooth Oak x2.

 

[Hunter 257W]

In an attempt to insure success by having a large variety of oaks, I planted the following varieties about 3 years ago:

Sawtooth
Dwarf Chinkapin
Bur
White
Swamp White
Shumard

I think it's best to have a variety for the same reason that a multiple plant mix makes a better food plot than a single planting. With different varieties you get a more consistent and longer crop of acorns each year compared to just one variety.

Obviously the 3 years since I planted my trees is too early for any of them to produce but they are looking promising.

 

[Hunter 257W]

I wish I had included some Chestnuts but I did not.

 

[BlountArrow]

Yeah I ended up getting (100) Sawtooth, (100) Chinkapins, (100) Swamp Chestnut Oaks. I also purchased (100) American Plum, (100) Southern Crab Apple, & (100) "Hybrid" Chestnuts. BUT, get this...the forester guy for the state that I talked to in Delano said these "Hybrid" chestnuts are actually Dunstans! I was shocked and honestly didn't believe him at first but he said the trees were grown from Dunstan seeds however he cannot advertise them as such due to Dunstan being a trademarked name.

 

[BlountArrow]

I wish I had included some Chestnuts but I did not.

The state still has some.

 

[Crosshairy]

A tree biology question regarding diversification...

if some sort of blight/pestilence hits your area, do different strains of oaks typically respond differently?

Worded differently, does varying the type of OAKS improve your odds of resisting disease/attack, or would you have to actually vary the genus of tree to have any real protection (planting oaks and apples, as a random example)?

 

[Hollar Hunter]

Yeah I ended up getting (100) Sawtooth, (100) Chinkapins, (100) Swamp Chestnut Oaks. I also purchased (100) American Plum, (100) Southern Crab Apple, & (100) "Hybrid" Chestnuts. BUT, get this...the forester guy for the state that I talked to in Delano said these "Hybrid" chestnuts are actually Dunstans! I was shocked and honestly didn't believe him at first but he said the trees were grown from Dunstan seeds however he cannot advertise them as such due to Dunstan being a trademarked name.

I was told the same about them being crossed with Dunstans. I got a 100 of them last year and I would say maybe 25% survived and of those lots had the tops die but the under branches are still surviving. I have also planted and grown Dunstans for 3 years now and I can tell you there very different. My dunstans all survived and are 10 feet tall. They even produced a few nuts last fall. I wish they were the same because there's a huge price difference in the two...

 

[BlountArrow]

I was skeptical too, HH.
Sounds like my initial suspicions were correct. I planted (9) Dunstan's last year that I got from WalMart and they seem to be doing GREAT except for (2) of them...those (2) may not make it.

 

[backstraps]

Who do you guys get the chestnut trees from?

 

[Hunter 257W]

A tree biology question regarding diversification...

if some sort of blight/pestilence hits your area, do different strains of oaks typically respond differently?

Worded differently, does varying the type of OAKS improve your odds of resisting disease/attack, or would you have to actually vary the genus of tree to have any real protection (planting oaks and apples, as a random example)?

This is what I was hinting at with my post but don't know enough to quantify what if any safeguard against disease a variety of oaks gives vs. planting all the same. Hopefully one of the more knowledgable tree growers here will comment on this.

 

[MickThompson]

A tree biology question regarding diversification...

if some sort of blight/pestilence hits your area, do different strains of oaks typically respond differently?

Worded differently, does varying the type of OAKS improve your odds of resisting disease/attack, or would you have to actually vary the genus of tree to have any real protection (planting oaks and apples, as a random example)?

This is what I was hinting at with my post but don't know enough to quantify what if any safeguard against disease a variety of oaks gives vs. planting all the same. Hopefully one of the more knowledgable tree growers here will comment on this.

Varying your mast species can help guard against a mast failure. It is valuable to have red oaks, white oaks, non-oak hard mast producers, and soft mast producers within a stand. Each provides a different food resource at a different time of year, and flowering/pollination may be staggered so a weather event would only impact a couple of species/groups. Diverse food resources=diverse wildlife.

Regarding Sawtooths-I saw some recent data out of NCSU on them. They put sawtooth acorns and white oak acorns in front of trail cameras, much like we would running a camera survey with corn. Deer ate 30% of the white oak acorns, and <1% of sawtooths when given a choice. Deer were more likely to visit an unbaited camera than to eat the sawtooths.

Deer food for thought...Manage your existing oaks and browse, or put something out there they rather wouldn't eat?

 

[TS_13]

A tree biology question regarding diversification...

if some sort of blight/pestilence hits your area, do different strains of oaks typically respond differently?

Worded differently, does varying the type of OAKS improve your odds of resisting disease/attack, or would you have to actually vary the genus of tree to have any real protection (planting oaks and apples, as a random example)?

This is what I was hinting at with my post but don't know enough to quantify what if any safeguard against disease a variety of oaks gives vs. planting all the same. Hopefully one of the more knowledgable tree growers here will comment on this.

Varying your mast species can help guard against a mast failure. It is valuable to have red oaks, white oaks, non-oak hard mast producers, and soft mast producers within a stand. Each provides a different food resource at a different time of year, and flowering/pollination may be staggered so a weather event would only impact a couple of species/groups. Diverse food resources=diverse wildlife.

Regarding Sawtooths-I saw some recent data out of NCSU on them. They put sawtooth acorns and white oak acorns in front of trail cameras, much like we would running a camera survey with corn. Deer ate 30% of the white oak acorns, and <1% of sawtooths when given a choice. Deer were more likely to visit an unbaited camera than to eat the sawtooths.

Deer food for thought...Manage your existing oaks and browse, or put something out there they rather wouldn't eat?

I just heard the same thing...Intersting....I guess they will be good for the turkeys?

 

[Football Hunter]

A tree biology question regarding diversification...

if some sort of blight/pestilence hits your area, do different strains of oaks typically respond differently?

Worded differently, does varying the type of OAKS improve your odds of resisting disease/attack, or would you have to actually vary the genus of tree to have any real protection (planting oaks and apples, as a random example)?

This is what I was hinting at with my post but don't know enough to quantify what if any safeguard against disease a variety of oaks gives vs. planting all the same. Hopefully one of the more knowledgable tree growers here will comment on this.

Varying your mast species can help guard against a mast failure. It is valuable to have red oaks, white oaks, non-oak hard mast producers, and soft mast producers within a stand. Each provides a different food resource at a different time of year, and flowering/pollination may be staggered so a weather event would only impact a couple of species/groups. Diverse food resources=diverse wildlife.

Regarding Sawtooths-I saw some recent data out of NCSU on them. They put sawtooth acorns and white oak acorns in front of trail cameras, much like we would running a camera survey with corn. Deer ate 30% of the white oak acorns, and <1% of sawtooths when given a choice. Deer were more likely to visit an unbaited camera than to eat the sawtooths.

Deer food for thought...Manage your existing oaks and browse, or put something out there they rather wouldn't eat?

May well be true,not doubting you,but sawtooth usually fall before white.A friend of mine has a great stand of sawtooth,15 years old.Ive seen the deer in under them while bow hunting,sounds like they are eating ice.

Guess what I am saying is,may not be a fair comparison,due to different drop times.?

 

[BlountArrow]

May well be true,not doubting you,but sawtooth usually fall before white.A friend of mine has a great stand of sawtooth,15 years old.Ive em the deer in under them while bow hunting,sounds like they are eating ice.

Guess what I am saying is,may not be a fair comparison,due to different drop times.?

Whew...that makes me feel a little better. I'd hate to think I was planting something that was merely decorative.

 

[Football Hunter]

May well be true,not doubting you,but sawtooth usually fall before white.A friend of mine has a great stand of sawtooth,15 years old.Ive em the deer in under them while bow hunting,sounds like they are eating ice.

Guess what I am saying is,may not be a fair comparison,due to different drop times.?

Whew...that makes me feel a little better. I'd hate to think I was planting something that was merely decorative.

Your not

 

[BSK]

Diversity, diversity, and more diversity. I would want as many different species of hard mast producing trees as I could get. I would want some Sawtooth around field edges, some true white, some Chinkapin on drier ridge sites. I would want both red and black oaks, and I would think seriously about the new Chestnuts that grow tall. Chestnuts are more regular mast producers than oaks.

 

[diamond hunter]

BSK what are these new chestnuts that grow tall you are mentioning??

 

[BSK]

diamond hunter,

If I remember correctly, some of the new hybrids (15/16 American Chestnut) are expected to grow 70-80 feet tall. That's not as tall as some oaks, but given good surrounding management they will produce a viable forest.

 

[Hollar Hunter]

Diversity, diversity, and more diversity. I would want as many different species of hard mast producing trees as I could get. I would want some Sawtooth around field edges, some true white, some Chinkapin on drier ridge sites. I would want both red and black oaks, and I would think seriously about the new Chestnuts that grow tall. Chestnuts are more regular mast producers than oaks.

Are the new chestnut trees your speaking of the ones from the state?

 

[BSK]

Are the new chestnut trees your speaking of the ones from the state?

I'm not sure what the state is offering chestnut-wise.

 

[Hollar Hunter]

Are the new chestnut trees your speaking of the ones from the state?

I'm not sure what the state is offering chestnut-wise.

Do you know where I can find the ones your referring to?

 

[BigAl]

Do an internet search for Dunstan Chestnuts. They sell them out of Florida, but occasionally you can find them locally. Walmart has even had them on occasion.

 

[Rucka356]

Where are you all getting oaks and what's a good price?

 

[MarshallCountyChestnut]

http://www.tn.gov/agriculture/publicati ... atalog.pdf