Collected Acorns sprouting

[Raging Bull]

In May I collected some acorns in the Adelaide Hills and brought them back to plant in a seed raising tray here in S.E. Qld. Just over a week ago the first sprouted and others followed and the little "babies" are waking up now one after the other. The climate is very mild here, and many of my other trees also think it's spring already.
I want to prick these seedlings out at the appropriate time and cut the tap root at the same time I put them in individual pots. Can anyone tell me how long I should leave them in the seed raising tray before moving them?
Cheers, Frank.

[melbrackstone]

Good going Frank!

That one with the 5 leaves could be pricked out and root pruned, I'm guessing...

That'll give it a chance to strengthen up before the westerlies hit. (If they do.)

[shibui]

There's no magic 'right' time to prick out seedlings. I've cut the root on some even before the shoot starts to show out of the seed. (Root grows first and can be 15 cm long before the shoot for the trunk starts to grow) Just cut the root leaving maybe 2-3 cm. That stops it growing longer and starts growing lateral roots. If you wait longer the long root will eventually start to grow a few laterals by itself but often quite deep.
Others I've left for an entire year before transplanting so it does not seem to matter when you do it or how big the seedling is. Personally I believe that earlier is better.

Looks like you will have plenty so why not do some trials and see what works.

[melbrackstone]

Oh, and just a FYI, young @Pierre from Brisbane has an English Oak growing and thriving in this climate....so it can be done! He drops in here occasionally, and might be able to offer hints as it gets to be a tree.

[Raging Bull]

Thanks for the info Mel & Neil. After I wrote the original post for this I looked at them again just before dark and two more are starting to break through the soil. I'll get some pots and start working on them over the next few days. I'll do as Neil suggested and prick them out at different stages of their development and see if it makes any difference. When I have a tangible result I'll post it to this thread.
Cheers, Frank.

[mcgee]

Hey Frank just wondering how these are going. Been in tassie and a mate has a few and im keen to collect a few acorns and get some started this year

[Raging Bull]

Hi Mcgee,
The ones I've kept are all doing well. I gave some away, but they were all healthy and growing quickly. After the first flush of growth during our Qld (non)winter they stopped for a while and grew more buds which have now opened to give a second flush of growth. They didn't need to be stratified, I just did the float test, but only a couple out of about 30 floated and the remainder all germinated. Along with the second flush of growth a couple of them have also grown a second trunk from the acorn.
Cheers, Frank.