Planting a Seedling Oak Tree From A Container. 9.27.2020

 Last year I rescue this seedling, squirrel-planted oak tree from somewhere.  From the leaves I'm guessing it is a Northern Red Oak.  It survived a root injury and grew about 8 inches.  This location is near the woodlot.  I stepped it out, the easement extends 30 feet from neighbor's fence, and this is 40 feet, so that should be OK.  There is a ginkgo tree a few feet from here, something killed it.  I don't know what.   I've had three ginkgos die on me, so I think it's the ginkgo tree and not the location per se.

In the container where I've been taking care of this little tree for a year.

I like to bare root my trees before planting them into the native soil.  There are a few reasons.  First, I get to inspect the root system.  Second, I can spread the roots around in the soil so there are no girdling roots.  Third, it's recommended by WA State horticulturalist Linda Chalker Scott, for these and other reasons - for example, roots tend to circle around in a hole that contains an nice potting medium whereas the surrounding soil is native.  Fourth, I think one of the issues with previously planted trees, maybe those ginkgos too, was that moles love the potting medium and dig through it, disturbing the roots and providing a route for voles, which eat the roots.   All of the trees that I planted during my first couple of years here, which I planted including their original potting medium, were severely disturbed by moles.  Since I started bare rooting them, that doesn't seem to happen, or not nearly as much.

This tree's roots look fine.  The damaged root is not 100% better but there is a lot of growth of the rest of that root, surrounding the injury.   There are also some new roots, thick and white, which is a good sign of root growth going into fall.

Planted into the ground.  It's a nice looking little tree.

This is on the deer all-you-can-eat salad bar route through my yard, so this tree needs protection.  I read that oak seedlings are eaten by deer.  I also added a plastic mesh with 1-inch openings.  Deer seem able to pull leaves through this more open, but sturdier wire fencing, so I use both.