I get water and laurel oak confused, too, Alabama, but willow oak is different. A lot of them grow in the neighborhood where my daughter used to live in Memphis, planted all along the streets there. They have very small leaves, much smaller than laurel or water oak leaves, and they have a real thick, tough looking trunk. They don't grow naturally down here, and I've never planted one, so I can't give you any advice. Remember that bur oak acorn from the Montgomery area that you sent me a couple of years ago? It grew to about 5 1/2' tall last year, so this year it should outgrow the cage I put around it (chicken wire type material attached to 1"X1" poles) to keep the deer from browsing on it. It makes HUGE leaves, it's very tough looking, and I'm enjoying watching it grow. Thanks again for the acorn! Sherry in Wiggins, MS

did you ask?? .. lol ... as i said.. i am not aware of any named varieties .... not that i tried very hard to find any ... this is not a scientific based analysis .. if any of the scientists want to argue over this.. feel free ... oaks are kinda the sluts of the forest .... they inter-pollinate .. with wild abandon ... to get acorns of say.. the red group.. the tree peeps 'find' an area that is predominantly a red oak forest ... and cull acorns from that area ... but in relying on air currents.. and mother nature.. there is no real way to insure the genetic makeup of any batch of seed ... you may end up with leaves that look like a red oak.. bark that looks like red oak.. wood that looks like red oak.. and habit .. well.. etc ... but somewhere hidden in all the genetics.. i am saying.. fall color ... what color they change when the leaf is dying/shutting down ..... is so far down the genetic cesspool.. that that variable.. is.. well.. variable ... and if you do find ONE red oak.. and pick up acorns from under it.. there is no real way.. to tell what you will end up with ..... in regard to fall color ... so .. IMHO.. the only way to be sure.. is to select them.. when they show their true colors ... and the real problem.. when growing from acorns.. is that they dont show their true colors [man this sounds like a bunch of pop music cliches.. lol] ... for maybe 10 years.. until they hit some level of maturity .... in fact.. i have one 5 year old babe.. maybe 18 inches tall.. that turns pink .... and i am enjoying the heck out of it.. but dont really expect that color to hold .... on my mineral sand 5 acres.. with 40 oak trees.. i have hundreds of free range seedlings .... so if you get to trying to grow seedlings.. and trust me.. its very entertaining ... dont go all martha stewart on how to do it [dont over-complicate it all] ..... throw them on some sand.. protect them from squirrels.. and walk away.. in essence.. be the squirrel.. when planting ... i wish you luck ken

Trees planted early in the ground will grow significantly faster than same aged one in the pots (but can be done if you KNOW what to do. Just hard to find right materials for that to happen). Another option is to let feeder roots escape into the ground where there is more moisture and nutrients (see Roottrapper with knitted fabric at the bottoms for feed roots to grow through and "anchor" trees so they don't get blown down. If I had a tree farm, I'd definitely go with that route. Either that or underground knit bags. I don't think there's any problems using organic fertilizers throughout the summer. I only use synthetic fertilizer in spring/fall. Last thing I want to do is mow all the time during hot weather. Alfalfa pellets at the rate of 20lbs per 1000 sqft isn't too bad. Vigorio organic fertilizer from Home Depot is intriguing. Jobee at Lowes is exactly the same. Milorginate has good amount of iron too keep lawn deep green. Mix it up. Here is a link that might be useful: Vigorio organic fertilizer

Sorta on topic: IMO you should plan for 100 years or so out of your residence. Sure some homes in the city are older but most are in ridiculously bad shape or have been rehabbed extensively. My home was one of the first siding and wood subdivision rectangles. It is 67 years old and doing ok. Many others in the area are slightly newer but not quite right due to human neglect though. Another thirty years and its empty lot near derelict home time. And yeah, I know with maintenance homes can last longer. My neighbor helped rebuild this plantation home across the street. IMO if it was not a commercial venture it would have been time to let it fall. Amazing the problems in the nicest of homes from 1850.