How about grow incredibly slow. Have extremely dense wood that does dull anything sharp that comes into contact with it (sometimes trees have to be cleared to make room for paths/garden etc). Have no fall color. Pop up everywhere around here. It along with ulmus alata and white and green ash have a ridiculous germination rate around my house. Even the small branches are so firm that a slight brush against my body feels like nails scraping my skin. Very. Ugly. Leaves. Very short for a long time. I would rather have just about any other tree that is growing on my property that the blackjack oak. Heck, even my much disliked ulmus alata displayed a fantastic fall show last year while the blackjack oak either turned brown and fell or fell while turning brown. Does grow where no oak should be able to grow and does provide acorns for the wildlife as well as other normal tree stuff birds love. And by the way I have not planted any lollipop trees on my property. I do have one specimen blackjack oak that is about 30 feet tall with very nice form in the open that will never see a chainsaw if that makes you feel any better.

if i had to do it .... i would get a pot.. and some cactus mix.. and transplant it ASAP ... and get it accustomed to the pot.. before the long drive home. and then i would put the pot in full shade and not plant it in mother earth.. until the leaves fall off ... trees do not like regular high peat media... it can hold too much water .. they like a drink and near total drainage ... even to be dry for a day or two .. before wetting again .... but in a small pot.. dont let the pot get too hot.. nor too dry.. while holding the plant over ... even if you have to stick the pot in the soil.. to temper august heat ... but dont shock it twice.. by digging it up.. then transporting it .. and then immediately replanting it... wait.. thats three shocks... and on the drive home.. no stopping for 12 afternoon drinks.. and leaving your pet tree in a closed car on the parking lot... crikey.. traveling with plants is worse than kids.. you just cant leave them in a closed locked car ... lol ... make sense...?? someone else can ID it for you .. but why not practice regardless... good luck.. let us know how it works out ... ken ps: i was told .. long ago.. its hard to ID oak babes.. as mature leaf form is better for ID ....but it sure does look like a swamper to my untrained eye ....

Thanks for the interest from everyone. I think I would like to give them first to stevega up in Flowery Branch (since he can put them in the ground in a habitat that they'd like), although I'm smack dab in Midtown, right next to the Carter Center. I'm zipcode 30312, right on the border with 30306. Steve, is this too far of a drive for you? I must admit that they're not much to look at right now. In fact, one is almost completely pruned back from summer scorching, although I'm pretty sure they'll bounce back next Spring if cared for. esh_ga or georgia-rose, I'll keep you updated if Steve decides he can't pick them up this weekend. BTW, I'm moving out on the 11th, so sadly I can't come to the 13th meeting at ABG.

My orders have been primarily seeds and hard goods, with only a few plants. * Stokes * Johnny's * John Scheeper's * Remy's Sample Seed Shop The seeds have been primarily annuals and vegetables, although I do have a couple perennials in there -- a tall blue balloon flower (almost impossible to find locally, it's all the dwarf varieties now) and I can't remember what else. Hard goods: * Parks: Kozy Coats (season extender -- for tomatoes) * Gardener's Supply: Cloches (for vegetable starts) and Rozy Cozy rose protectors (for my DAs; see below). I haven't been pleased with the last couple things I've ordered from GS, so we'll see how these work out... Also ordered some liquid fertilizer and mildew spray (*!&@# powdery mildew) from Johnny's . Plants: Select Seeds: "Pritchard's Variety" campanula and "Fama Blue" scabiosa. The Fama I have now I started from seed, but I didn't feel like monkeying around with that this year so just ordered a couple plants. I have a love-hate relationship with this plant; the flowers are a stunning shade of blue and big for a scabiosa, but dang it has the rattiest-*ss foliage. I can't resist it though...sigh. I've just learned to "hide" it behind other plants or grow where I don't have a good view of the foliage. And, you know, you guys did talk me into the campanula... LOL! David Austin: "Royal Jubilee" rose. I normally avoid roses other than rugosas like the plague because they're plagued with so many problems, but the color, form, and scent of this one is captivating, I had to have it. The one I planted last spring did fairly well it's first year, so I decided to get another one this year for a spot that opened up in another bed. I was going to order cardinal flower from Prairie Moon but decided to go one to of the native plant nurseries in the area in the spring instead, so I'll pick this one up then (along with a butt-load of other things, I'm sure...)