I can't help you with differentiating between the 2 oaks, but the round "fruit" you are seeing is oak gall, caused by a certain wasp that lays it's eggs there. When the eggs hatch the babies secrete something that causes the gall to form for their protection and food. I think they don't harm the tree, and there's not a control for it. Google oak gall for more information.

Even professional arborist have difficulty differentiating
Live oaks. The reason being they sometimes cross pollinate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Live oaks

Thank for the replies. I actually bought a book, "Oaks of North America", and was trying to find a way to distiniguish between the oaks. It's more of personal satisfaction of knowing which live oak is which.

So, I am assuming, if these two species are so close, then there wouldn't be any different in the their shape and the growth of their branches. I have planted some red oak (Shumard Oak) and Live Oak acrons from different trees. I am hoping I would be able to make a tree from the seed of my own hardwork. Maybe give it to friends and family.

Don't forget Burr Oak. Grow faster than any others and are extremely drought tolerant!

Well, I was looking for a shade tree, which is preferably evergreen. Today, I noticed there was a larva in the pot in which I planted acorns. I did the float test and these were all sinkers. Any ideas?

Maybe you could get acorns from this beauty.

Here is a link that might be useful: champion live oak

Thanks for the link. It's a beautiful tree. There's a fence around it and I don't think I can get it's acorn. These are old trees, I wonder if they still grow acorns.

I want to further this post by asking one more question.

I live in an apartment and have planted some shumard and live oaks in a 5 gallon pot. The problem is, I don't get direct sunlight in my apartment, but I keep the pot close to window for light.

What I am planning to do is to hopefully either plant some at my brother's backyard, and maybe, somehow, if it's possible grow them inside my apartment for me. I don't know how fast they'll grow, and how big pot will I need over the next year. It's been two weeks since put this acorns and it's my first time experience.

Ideally, I was planning to grow acorn from the seed for my future house, which is still 2 years away. The other important thing I read about is to not allow the plant roots to circle the pot. I wonder, how can I deal with the growing tap root in the pot, considering their growth is four times longer than their size above the ground.

I know, these are a lots of questions, but if someone can answer them for me, that would be really helpful to me. Thank you so much.

Thanks Kathy for posting the information about "The Big Tree". Whenever we get company, I always take them over there to see it in Lamar. And yes, all of the surrounding oaks are thought to have come about from "The Big Tree", so it is possible to get some acorns from around it.

OK, I'm going to say what I always say regarding Texas gardening questions, and that is to contact your local county extension agent's office and ask to speak to a Master Gardener. They should have all kinds of information for you regarding growing oaks.

One thing we are always told is to "diversify when you plant trees", i.e. not to plant ALL OF THE SAME TYPES OF TREES. The reason is because if a disease and/or insect comes in and invades the one particular type of tree, it can wipe them all out. Whereas, if you have different types of trees, you might lose one, but not necessarily all of them.

Here is a website with a list of Texas Native Trees with lots of good information.

natureman

A five gallon container should be fine for your seedlings for a couple of years. Most trees sold in five gallon containers are about 5 to 6 feet tall. Those roots grow slowly for the first few years.

If you have a balcony you should move your container outside to get more light. Also, you may need to plant many acorns to get one seedling, since all are not viable.

Thanks you guys for responding to my post. I really appreciate it. As I understand, if I do get lucky and get the seedlings with these seedlings, so it's possible for the plant to survive for around 2 years.

Okay this will sound silly, but it will work. If you know someone with large oak trees in their yard, ask them to let you place a few pots of soil under their trees, maybe where they don't look too obvious. Do it now. Keep the soil kind of moist. In the spring you will probably have some seedlings. I get volunteer oaks all the time this way, without even intending to...and some of them are worth keeping. I have a 3year old burr oak waiting to be planted that was a volunteer.

Thanks for the advice. I am new to this area, and I have to find someone to do that.

It's been 2 weeks since I planted the acorns in the pot. I have been watering them every other 2nd or 3rd day. I have been noticing some small black flying bugs in the soil. I have other pots with the same soil they don't have any bugs in them. I wonder if these bugs are coming from the bad acorns.

My concern is that if these bugs are harmful, or will they go away on their own in a couple of weeks. They seem to stay in and around the same pot. Any light on this would help me. Thanks.

The insects may indicate over-watering. You might try reading the Growing From Seed or Plant Propagation Forum to see if you can find some pointers.

I control fungus gnats by layering sand over the top of the soil. I think I learned that from someone on this forum.

Does layering the soil really work?

I would like to purchase a samll quanity of (Oak Galls) for personal use only. Do you have some, or know where I can purchase some? Your help and assistance is greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

Reverend Jimmy Wright