# Can I grow an oak tree form an acorn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434 "2009-06-30T02:13:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/1 "2009-06-30T02:13:02Z")
About a year and half ago I gathered a few acorns from beheath some of the neighborhood oak trees and planted them about 4 or five inches into the soil in my yard. Nothing happened. What do I have to do to successfully grow an oak from an acorn? ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/2 "2009-06-30T02:27:57Z")
Had a half a billion fall from my tree onto my lawn last year, and LOTS of them germinated. So it’s not hard at all. Just drop them on the soil and water very occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/3 "2009-06-30T02:46:46Z")
You planted too deep. I used to plant them at my grandpa’s farm and they grew into nice trees. Dig a small hole an inch deep and drop in an acorn. Fill in the hole and leave them to grow. Plant extras. You can always thin. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/4 "2009-06-30T03:00:45Z")
Way too deep.. [Plant an Acorn](http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/p/oak_acorn.htm) > [@](#): > > Place acorns on their sides at a depth of one half to one times the width of the acorn. The easiest way is to take a small garden spade out and transplant a few that sprouted on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/5 "2009-06-30T03:56:32Z")
Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood of the Royal Navy used to always carry acorns around in his pocket and would plant them whenever he was out in the country. He wanted to make sure that there would be plenty of oak trees for Britain’s future ship-building needs. Ironically, oak trees take over a hundred years to grow large enough to be cut down for lumber. And in the century after Collingwood planted his acorns, navies switched over to steel for ships. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/6 "2009-06-30T04:11:21Z")
Since the OP has been answered… [The Man Who Planted Trees](http://home.infomaniak.ch/arboretum/Man_Tree.htm) (text) [THe Man Who Planted Trees](http://fr.truveo.com/The-man-who-planted-trees/id/3280381358) (video, 30:00 – audio is a bit low) [The Man Who Planted Trees](http://www.viddler.com/explore/Ms_Valerie/videos/240/) (video, 30:00 – chinese subtitles and French titles, but better (English) audio) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/7 "2009-06-30T05:07:44Z")
I grew an oak sapling from an acorn when I was a child - my first grade teacher gave me the acorn, so I must have been five or six. I just… stuck it in a pot of earth and watered it when I remembered (which was a lot at first, and then less as time went on). At some point my mother took over caring for it, and eventually she took it to the local garden centre and had it trimmed and wired up to be a bonsai. It lived about 20 years, dying one excessively hot summer. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/8 "2009-06-30T05:43:45Z")
oooh! A bonsai oak tree. That sounds pretty cool. Maybe I can do that here. I have a ton of germinated acorns. They show up everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/9 "2009-06-30T06:29:43Z")
Acorns have to be buried by squirrels to grow. The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Temple-Slam-Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@Temple-Slam-Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temple-Slam-Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/10 "2009-06-30T06:38:29Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Acorns have to be buried by squirrels to grow. The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. > > 🙂 wouldn’t the squirrels go hungry what with all their acorns germinating? ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/11 "2009-06-30T07:22:48Z")
> [@Temple-Slam-Cat](#): > > wouldn’t the squirrels go hungry what with all their acorns germinating? Judging from the number of pecan saplings we see popping up in weird places, squirrels at least sometimes forget where they left their stash. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/12 "2009-06-30T07:25:33Z")
We don’t have squirrels here, but our oaks seem to propagate just fine. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/13 "2009-06-30T07:27:15Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Judging from the number of pecan saplings we see popping up in weird places, squirrels at least sometimes forget where they left their stash. I thought squirrels nibbled out a section of acorns they were going to stash, which prevented germination? Sure I saw something like that on an Attenborough show. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/14 "2009-06-30T07:49:25Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Acorns have to be buried by squirrels to grow. The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. > > 🙂 This is not true, I believe it’s an attempt at a joke.😛 Although it is true that oak trees do rely upon squirrels and other critters to spread their acorns. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/15 "2009-06-30T08:03:27Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. I just called the garden centre and they’ve never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/16 "2009-06-30T09:52:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Acorns have to be buried by squirrels to grow. The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. > [@Loopus](#): > > Judging from the number of pecan saplings we see popping up in weird places, squirrels at least sometimes forget where they left their stash. Hmmmm. Squirels use salvia? > [@](#): > > [Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_divinorum) > > Salvia divinorum (Diviner’s Sage,[2] ska María Pastora,[3] Sage of the Seers,[4] or colloquially by its genus name Salvia) is a psychoactive herb which can induce strong dissociative effects. It is a herbaceous perennial in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The specific name, Salvia divinorum, was given because of its traditional use in divination and healing[5]—it literally translates to “diviner’s sage” or “seer’s sage”. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/17 "2009-06-30T11:47:24Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Acorns have to be buried by squirrels to grow. The squirrel salvia (try saying that fast) has enzyimes that activate the growth genes. > > 🙂 I don’t even know where to begin saying what’s wrong with that sentence. But it would be rude if I just left it at that; [ol] [li]They don’t. They germinate no matter what buries them. Or even if they just fall from the tree for that matter.[/li][li]“Squirrel **salvia** ”? Is that [some sort of plant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia)? OK, I’ll admit that’s just me being nitpicky.[/li][li]“Enzyimes” can’t “activate genes”, genes are active or they aren’t. They can break apart the proteins that make DNA up. Hormones and neurotransmitters could cause a change in physiology already predetermined by a given organism’s physiology, but I find it unlikely that squirrels would produce a (complicated and energy wasting) substance that ruined their stashes of food.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/18 "2009-06-30T13:29:09Z")
I have some huge oak trees that produce a lot of acorns. Almost every single one I pick up is an “empty”, no fruit inside. The squirrels can tell which are good and which are bad and ignore the bad ones. The good ones are sometimes pulled off even before they hit the ground. Maybe the OP’s acorns were ones passed over by squirrels for good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/19 "2009-06-30T13:36:00Z")
Don’t touch that squirrel’s nuts! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434/20 "2009-06-30T15:57:30Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Judging from the number of pecan saplings we see popping up in weird places, squirrels at least sometimes forget where they left their stash. The figure I’ve heard is that squirrels fail to recover about 80% of what they bury. What I do know from experience is that I wind up with a lot of tulips in my lawn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-grow-an-oak-tree-form-an-acorn/501434.md?page=2)