Oak trees

[elephantnose3334]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in oak trees because of the sheer beauty of those trees, especially at the spring and autumn. Although rare here, I did see oaks before, but don't remember them. I'd look up at them and watch the leaves fall. Oaks are great trees for acorn collection and I could sell them to other people. How do I sell the acorns to other people? Can oak leaves be used for daphina ponds?

I'm new to oaks because I don't see them often in Perth. Oaks are beautiful but hard to look after when they're young. And I need a bigger property to house them. It might sound like a silly question, but what does an oak mean to you as a kid?

 

[sharkweek178]

If you're going to use oak leaves for anything aquarium related, be careful where you collect them from. You don't want to get them from anywhere they spray pesticides (like parks). And trees by roadways accumulate exhaust residue on the leaves.

 

[Slaphppy7]

If you're going to use oak leaves for anything aquarium related, be careful where you collect them from. You don't want to get them from anywhere they spray pesticides (like parks). And trees by roadways accumulate exhaust residue on the leaves.

And industrial pollution...

 

[Aqua67]

As a kid I had a lot of maple trees around me. I’ve got oak trees on my property now, but not when I was young. I always loved the trees and said one day I’ll have a house with a park-like yard. I used to lay on my back with my little cassette tape recorder and just record the sound of the maple leaves rustling and the birds. Cicadas used these trees for molting and I remember finding the molts and sticking them on my shirt. One time I found a live one and I was playing with it, but I tossed it into the air (as a kid I thought it would fly as it had wings), but a bird swooped down and took off with it. If I went for a walk and did find oak trees, I would look for the tops of acorns and if I positioned my thumbs in a certain way I could get the loudest whistle from them. Now I bring acorn tops to concerts when I want a super loud whistle. Now I collect dried oak leaves from my property and put them in my aquariums.

 

[GaryE]

Where I am, everything was commercially clearcut many times over, before people moved in. The forestry company talks about being green and reforesting, but they only plant one species of evergreen tree. Red oaks were once native to the region, as are Bur oaks. There's one tiny peninsula with bur oaks still, but when we got a house with a large lot, I started some red oaks. It will take more than my lifetime for them to become established, but in the meantime, I can harvest leaves in the autumn..

I would expect Australian oaks to be invasives. Are there native ones?

 

[Fish Fanatic34]

Where I am, everything was commercially clearcut many times over, before people moved in. The forestry company talks about being green and reforesting, but they only plant one species of evergreen tree. Red oaks were once native to the region, as are Bur oaks. There's one tiny peninsula with bur oaks still, but when we got a house with a large lot, I started some red oaks. It will take more than my lifetime for them to become established, but in the meantime, I can harvest leaves in the autumn..

I would expect Australian oaks to be invasives. Are there native ones?

Nah no native oaks here wish there were though.

 

[MuddyWaters]

I was born and spent my early years in Savannah, GA and Live Oaks are very common there. Whenever I see them with the moss hanging from them, I get a warm feeling. Great times. Beautiful trees. Just don't handle the moss- it's full of chiggers. Folks who go to Savannah from other places like to take home some moss as a souvenir and end up eat up with chiggers. Not fun LOL.

 

[Colin_T]

We have a few oaks that are found on parks and gardens in Australia but they are not native (as mentioned by Fish Fanatic34). The more common oaks are from California? and a few other areas in the warmer parts of the US. We have some European oaks in Donneybrook? in the south-west of WA.

When I was a kid we had a 1/4 acre block, which was standard size back then. It had a beautiful European oak along with some other deciduous trees and a river red gum. Every autumn the oak would drop acorns and I used to collect them up and try planting them. Some grew and some didn't. It turns out the acorns need to be planted within 48 hours of hitting the ground or they don't germinate. They take around 4-5 months before sprouting and this is presumably due to them needing a cold winter and then warm spring to start the growing process. Once they sprouted they were easy to care for and I used to give them away to friends and family.

A few years after I moved from that property, I went back to get some cuttings from the trees but the new owners cut them all down and there were none left. I tried to find the people I had given trees to and they had all lost them or moved and no longer had the property with trees. It was a beautiful trees (they all were) and it annoyed me a lot that someone would cut down a 40 year old tree for no reason, let alone clear the block of all the trees, which acted as a great wind break and stopped the afternoon sun in summer.

-------------------

As for using their leaves for infusoria and tannins in water, they work really well. Just collect up the leaves after they have dropped off the tree and put them in a pond or container of water. Within a month it will be full of infusoria.

 

[elephantnose3334]

We have a few oaks that are found on parks and gardens in Australia but they are not native (as mentioned by Fish Fanatic34). The more common oaks are from California? and a few other areas in the warmer parts of the US. We have some European oaks in Donneybrook? in the south-west of WA.

When I was a kid we had a 1/4 acre block, which was standard size back then. It had a beautiful European oak along with some other deciduous trees and a river red gum. Every autumn the oak would drop acorns and I used to collect them up and try planting them. Some grew and some didn't. It turns out the acorns need to be planted within 48 hours of hitting the ground or they don't germinate. They take around 4-5 months before sprouting and this is presumably due to them needing a cold winter and then warm spring to start the growing process. Once they sprouted they were easy to care for and I used to give them away to friends and family.

A few years after I moved from that property, I went back to get some cuttings from the trees but the new owners cut them all down and there were none left. I tried to find the people I had given trees to and they had all lost them or moved and no longer had the property with trees. It was a beautiful trees (they all were) and it annoyed me a lot that someone would cut down a 40 year old tree for no reason, let alone clear the block of all the trees, which acted as a great wind break and stopped the afternoon sun in summer.

-------------------

As for using their leaves for infusoria and tannins in water, they work really well. Just collect up the leaves after they have dropped off the tree and put them in a pond or container of water. Within a month it will be full of infusoria.

It's depressing to hear that. Oak trees are beautiful to watch. Do you have an oak tree near your house? How big was the oak before it was cut down?

 

[elephantnose3334]

We have a few oaks that are found on parks and gardens in Australia but they are not native (as mentioned by Fish Fanatic34). The more common oaks are from California? and a few other areas in the warmer parts of the US. We have some European oaks in Donneybrook? in the south-west of WA.

When I was a kid we had a 1/4 acre block, which was standard size back then. It had a beautiful European oak along with some other deciduous trees and a river red gum. Every autumn the oak would drop acorns and I used to collect them up and try planting them. Some grew and some didn't. It turns out the acorns need to be planted within 48 hours of hitting the ground or they don't germinate. They take around 4-5 months before sprouting and this is presumably due to them needing a cold winter and then warm spring to start the growing process. Once they sprouted they were easy to care for and I used to give them away to friends and family.

A few years after I moved from that property, I went back to get some cuttings from the trees but the new owners cut them all down and there were none left. I tried to find the people I had given trees to and they had all lost them or moved and no longer had the property with trees. It was a beautiful trees (they all were) and it annoyed me a lot that someone would cut down a 40 year old tree for no reason, let alone clear the block of all the trees, which acted as a great wind break and stopped the afternoon sun in summer.

-------------------

As for using their leaves for infusoria and tannins in water, they work really well. Just collect up the leaves after they have dropped off the tree and put them in a pond or container of water. Within a month it will be full of infusoria.

Oh and @Colin_T, when was the last time you saw your childhood oak tree? I think instead of cutting it down, the new owner would've saved the oak. Was it similar to the bromeliads and all the other stuff when new owners came and brought properties? How can I keep an oak tree and a bromeliad shed? How big the future property must be to house both of them?

 

[Colin_T]

There's not trees around here, let alone oaks.
The last time I saw the tree in my backyard was 1997
I don't know when or why the new owners removed the trees, just idiots I guess.

The bromeliad shadehouse can be any size. Most people start off small with 2 meter square area covered in shadecloth. You can go as big as you like.

Oak trees can get pretty big and you need a decent size block.

 

[elephantnose3334]

There's not trees around here, let alone oaks.
The last time I saw the tree in my backyard was 1997
I don't know when or why the new owners removed the trees, just idiots I guess.

The bromeliad shadehouse can be any size. Most people start off small with 2 meter square area covered in shadecloth. You can go as big as you like.

Oak trees can get pretty big and you need a decent size block.

I'll start the bromeliad shed small and indoors. Could I have a bromeliad room? What's a good property plan that features the shed and the oak tree?

 

[simonas]

Oak trees are amazing except for the huge one in my neighbours garden that overhangs mine thats a few hundred years old. Full time job all year round picking up leaves, blossom, acorns and branches

 

[Colin_T]

Bromeliads like good airflow around them and do best under shade cloth rather than in an enclosed room where the humidity can get too high and encourage fungus and moulds to grow. You could just make a frame under a tree and put the bromeliads there. No need for a shed or anything special, just a stand for putting the plants on and the tree (oak or whatever) can provide shade for them.

 

[Back in the fold]

When you find a really nice oak tree tie a yellow ribbon around it .