Small oak for prairie garden planting? Or coppice a burr oak?

8 years ago

I've devoted approximately 1,000 sq. ft of my yard to a mesic prairie garden I've spent the past year developing. From last fall to this fall, I did site prep to kill off the existing grass and weeds and frequently tilled to exhaust the seed bank, and just started putting in prairie seedlings/plugs this fall. Shortly, I'll be topping that off with a fall sowing of a prairie seed mixture I mostly collected myself from local sources.
Anyway, I have a spot where I could put in a small tree to compliment the site. A full-sized burr oak like the ones I walk under in the oak savanna remnants I hike is far too large, and would eventually grow into the adjacent power line. The only dwarf species of oaks I've been able to locate that are Z4 hardy are dwarf chinkapin oak and bear oak, and I'm leaning towards bear oak for the resemblance to burr oak.
My other option is to plant a burr oak sapling, and then coppice it every 5-6 years or so whenever it approaches 15-20 ft in height. I'm not so sure I like that idea though. I know a burr oak can easily grow 4 ft a year when regenerating from an established root system, but it would still leave a gap in the planting every few years.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

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Comments (6)

joeinmo 6b-7a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Dwarf Chestnut Oak

http://www.fknursery.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_ID/2210/index.htm

Suppose to be zone 4

know it's not a dwarf oak but how about a "prairie dream" Birch?

did you plant the all-important milkweed for monarchs?
PRO
Select Landscapes of Iowa
8 years ago
I would also opt for something other than the oaks. If you are still going for a native tree I would choose the native hybrid Aesculus 'Homestead' or the Homestead Buckeye. It is resistant to the common leaf blight Ohio Buckeye has at the end of the year and is perfect for a prairie setting with outstanding orange fall color and a perfect rounded crown. Another great choice would be Aesculus 'Autumn Splendor' which is a University of Minnesota release that has red fall color. Both trees will mature in the 20' range and are resistant to the leaf blight that commonly disfigures other buckeyes and horse chestnuts. They will produce fruits so are not recommended right by a sidewalk.

Other options would be the dwarf river birch Fox Valley or Little King, and you could also do Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium). There is also a dwarf oak release from NDSU called Prairie Pioneer which is more of a single-stemmed, non-suckering dwarf oak. Only problem is that it is very hard to locate in commerce and I have never seen them available for sale. If you wanted to go with something non-native there are two newer Ussurian Pear varieties, Mountain Frost and Prairie Gem. Prairie Gem would give you a dwarf tree in your range. Overall I prefer the buckeye as it has that "native look" and you probably won't find them planted nearby.
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Thank you everyone! I think we will try the Burr Oak as I believe it tends to have more of a deep tap root than many lateral/surface roots I've read (state tree of my home state of Iowa too!). The City has recently planted them now in our parks & they seem to look good & don't think those curious acorns would be too much of a mess when they fall (our pecan dropped the nuts & the darn dogs learned to chew off the husk & eat the nutmeat & leave the sharp hulls on the lawn for me to walk on (barefoot)! We have a ?50 yr. old staghorn sumac that I love the shape, medium height, fall leaf colors... but, it sends out runners underground that I have to pull up when they come up & invade the lawn, flower beds, etc. It seems to be more of a decorative tree than a shade tree too. The pistache I've seen planted here locally are still young so don't know if I'd like them as they got bigger... but the fall colors are pretty! I do see that the redbuds of the neighbor's drop seeds that seem to germinate all too well ... not a 'plus'! So, given our altitude, cold, heat, arid climate ... I think you've helped us make the decision ... a burr oak!
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OK, I think I get it froggy. I haven't read 'Miracle Under the Oaks' yet but i kind of get your drift. I think I see signs of it in our back field that is only bushhogged once a year. The last picture from my original post was taken in that field. There I see butterflyweed and partridge pea and mountain mint and other possible original remnants of what was once there. I know that the "Cedar Glades" and the "Big Barrens" are part of this area where I live and there are all sorts of prairie remnants in clearings between forested areas. Knowing the history has sparked my interest in restoring some of these areas in my small way. So let me ask you, how would you manage the area I'm asking about, the sinkhole area that has been so abused and disturbed. It is not forested, though it may have been at one time, and it was probably never plowed, given the steepness of the hillsides and the fact that a sinkhole lies at the bottom of those hillsides. Historically sinkholes were left alone, or used as dumps. Our underground streams cause many sinkholes to just give way, and as farmers here know now as they did then, they can swallow up livestock. In fact there was a newspaper article last year about a horse that had to be rescued from someone's field when a sinkhole just opened up one day and the unlucky horse ended up at the bottom of it! So I'm thinking that there may in fact be native grasses and forbs that like our calcareous soils and are associated with sinkhole areas. I think Mammoth Cave has some info on that but I have not checked it out. I've also never been there, caves kind of creep me out! Anyway, do you think our method of cutting and burning will help? One or the other? What about using Roundup in the early spring to get rid of the blackberry and poke? I did read an article about using Roundup early enough in the season to kill the cool season grasses yet not disturb the warm season grasses. I think timing was crucial in their findings. Their emphasis was on pastures but some info is still relevant. If you'd like, check out the link below. Here is a link that might be useful: converting pastures to tall grass prairies
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Suzzque, if you catch the seedlings before they get more than 10 or 12 inches tall, you can easily dig them up and replant them. They will not have extended their roots yet and more than likely you will find the young root still encapsulated in the acorn. Replant acorn and all. I have had good luck doing this many times. You wont hurt the big tree roots at all at this point....................................................... KOSSETX, send me an e-mail. I have 9 acorns on hand that are a couple of years old. I believe that they are still viable. The tree is located 80 miles from where I live now and I do not know when I will next get out that way. If you e-mail me your address, I will snail mail them to you. If they do not root for you, I may be able to get my brother to mail you some as he lives about 5 miles from the tree. Either way we can work something out. Billy
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bengz6westmd
8 years ago
Bear oak (as you mention) is a wonderful oak "shrub" that wouldn't need maintenance, but never seen it available.
Huggorm
8 years ago
I have been looking for bear oak acorns for years now, but neither Sheffield's nor Schumacher's have them
nick_b79
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for all the info, everyone!

I wanted to stick to something like an oak primarily for the nut production for wildlife. Do wildlife eat buckeyes as readily as they go after acorns? One of the reasons I was looking for oaks was that, where we are, there are surprisingly few of them around. Lots of houses on 2-5 acres of land, with corn and soy fields around, and mostly landscaped with spruces and maples. No one has the patience to grow them, apparently, which is a shame.

I have seen bear oak seedlings for sale from Reeseville Ridge Nursery in Wisconsin though.

And yes, I just transplanted in 5 prairie milkweed seedlings today!
joeinmo 6b-7a
8 years ago
Good job on the milkweed!!

Small oak for prairie garden planting? Or coppice a burr oak?

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joeinmo 6b-7a

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Small oak for prairie garden planting? Or coppice a burr oak?

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joeinmo 6b-7a

Select Landscapes of Iowa

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bengz6westmd

Huggorm

nick_b79Original Author

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nick_b79
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