Actually it is supposed to have a fairly good growth rate - some even describe it as "rapid". I don't think the growth rate would be affected by the proximity of either of the two mentioned oaks in any way different from being close to any source of competition.

go to the link below ...

then go to the link i posted in the first post ...

growth rate in my z5 sand .... 3 to 5 feet.. once established .. depending on ambient rain .. and PROPER planting, mulching and water until fully established ...

how long it takes a very small mail order plant to get 'established' .. and perform to specs .... is unknown to me ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

My experience has been limited so far but I will tell you what I know so far.

I started 6 seedlings April 2011 from acorn I collect November 2012. All 6 were in high draining potting mix with root pruning pots. They ranged in size from 26"-36" at the end of the growing season. All but one was 32"+. None got complete sun, so with better sun they may have grown more,

November 2010 we planted a 2" caliper B&B Scarlet Oak. It grew a suprising amount it's first spring. It had shoots ~18"-22". Looking at the trunk it looks as though it had grown 3-5'+ per year at the tree farm.

Also the species habitat is dry ridges, where it is a dominant species. It is thought that is largely due to it being able to grow faster than most anything else in that habitat.

So IMHO Q. coccinea will have little trouble keeping up.

Arktree

I started 6 seedlings April 2011 from acorn I collect November 2012.

===>>> that must have been magical ...

what fert did you boost them with in the pots???

i have never seen a tree grow from an acorn to 3 feet in one season ... not even a poplar cutting ...

ken

I have 2 of the bunch Ark is talking about, Ken. Both are easily over 2' :) I also had a few silver maples go from seed in spring to over 4' and a slippery elm from seed to 2.5'. It can happen for a lot of species if conditions are perfect (which were the conditions for the scarlets in the pots).

John

Oops, that should have been November 2010. That would have been a good trick would it not. ;-)

I used the 6" pots linked below to plant them into. Those are actually hydroponic pots, but they worked just fine. The potting media was Farfard 52 mix IIRC. Acorns were planted in early April after cold stratification my my frig in moist perilite. Pots were place atop the bare ground and kept moist, but watered daily once the seedlings emerged. Fertilizer was Osmocote Plus, as it has all the major and micro nutrients. Due to daily watering, a few pellets were applied to each pot every 3-4 weeks to maintain nutrient levels. Each seedling pushed multiple flushes of growth over the growing season. In August due to extreme heat and drought, I placed each pots inside a 1 gallon pot to slow evaporation a bit. At that time the roots rapidly grow out the sides of the pots they had been in all summer. So the effect was that the seedlings had been air pruned all summer, had no dominant tap root, and had a dense root system at the time of going into the ground, and are up to three feet tall. I will try to upload a picture of them later.

Arktrees

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 inch Pots

Ken,
One thing I did not mention, was once I place the pots into pots, that one of them developed a root pathogen issue and was disposed.

Below are pics of three of the seedlings taken in early November 2011. They had slowly been developing color for weeks at this point, and had not grown for some time, so they had plenty of time to harden off before winter. I in no way expected them to grow so much since the literature says they spend several years developing a root system before taking off. Guess that is optional if the seedlings are happy enough.

Arktrees

{{gwi:328000}}

{{gwi:328001}}

{{gwi:328002}}

Thanks, I had heard about the root growing vs. the top. I'll be using seed so that will be no problem, at least not as much as transplanting.

hey ark .. how long is your growing season.. from leaf opening to coloration???

i am lucky if my oak leaf out by late may/early june.. and they are going down hill by late sept ... thats at best 4 months ...

is your active growth season longer???

ken

My total growing season is typically near 6 months for the area. However my location is less than that due to valley effect creating late freezes in spring, and early freezes in autumn. Also our spring and fall are both fuzzy and extended in comparison to further north. Both are 2-3 month long process. However in way of comparison I will use Sugar Maple. SM typically leaf begin to leaf about the 3rd week of April with growth and expansion continuing into mid May. Autumn coloration begins to develop in a patchy manner by October, with peak in the 3rd or 4th week of October, depending upon climate. In valley's (where these seedlings are grown), coloration is 7-10 days earlier.

Honestly, I have not had Oaks long enough to give you a better approximation for those. I can say these seedling emerged very late April and stopped growing before the end of August. I cut back on the fertilizer before then to make sure they had time to harden off for winter. I will look at my records this evening to see the date of first leaf on the Q. coccinea that we had planted in the fall of 2010.

Arktrees