I am in the process of buying 20 acres that join my 65 acres. 12 acres of it is clear cut that is very clean by a dozer. I am going to leave a field in the middle and plant 5 or 6 acres in oaks. The fastest growing is sawtooth.I will plant several types of oaks for a variety. I do not want to wait 20 years for acorns on all the trees. DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH LARGE PLANTINGS OF SAWTOOTH TREES?......All the surrounding land is pine so I think this would be a great food source......ANY THOUGHTS?

would be a great food source but I would plant some white oaks, walltalls, maybe some red oaks...I would plant the sawtooths closer to the field you are going to leave and plant some pears and crab apple trees on edge of field or in the middle of field...that way the deer would not just hang out in the whole sawtooth plantation you are planning to do...just my thoughts

I have no experience planting the sawtooths and can't speak to that part, however a couple of other thoughts did come to my mind. I don't know the shape of this 20 acres but if it is approximately square or rectangular, I would handle the project this way.

I would plant the oaks in not over 100 foot wide "corridors" leading from the pines or other existing cover toward the food plot. I would put a corridor on all four sides leading into the food plot-N, S, E, & W. I would plant the oaks in lines near the outside edge of the corridors, staking a marker where each oak should be planted. But the key is to stagger each oak from left to right. No two oaks would be straight across from each other. The pattern would thus be ...Left side, alternate to right side but move one position forward, then alternate to left side but move one position forward, etc. repeating to the end. What that would create is a zig zag pattern with an open space across from each oak on the opposite side.

In that open space, instead of just another oak, I would plant a variety of fruit trees that mature at different times, such as persimmons, apples, pears, etc. The idea is to create a buffet corridor consisting of a variety of hard and soft mast maturing at various times in the summer and fall. The corridors will naturally become travel routes the deer will follow readily into the food plot. You might also consider planting a few other trees here and there in the middle of this corridor, such as dogwoods, wild cherry, etc. that attract deer.

The fruit and other soft mast producing trees will start producing much sooner than the oaks and thereby attracting deer to the area. The pattern of a corridor will virtually guarantee that most of the deer will stroll into the food plot along one of these entry corridors.

The food plot itself can be planted in any of a number of good deer forage crops. But I would NOT plant any forage for deer in the areas along side the entry corridors. Those areas should simply be bush hogged in a one-two-three pattern of one third of the area cut each year. This will allow for natural edge regrowth to regenerate which will be beneficial to a variety of wildlife, including deer, turkeys, rabbits, etc.

Also, I would not make the food plot an even rectangle or square but would allow the entry corridors to protrude a little distance into the food plot, thereby creating an irregular shape to the food plot and more edge areas. The end result would a a nice, irregularly shaped food plot planted with good deer forage crops located at the ends of four wooded entry corridors containing more attractive deer mast. The open areas between the food plat and the existing woodlands would contain progressively older strips of new cutover and one and two year old natural regrowth.

The food plot and the natural regrowth would be the primary attractants for the first five years or so, until some of the faster maturing varieties of soft mast begin to produce enough to provide some additional food sources. In this scheme, the absence of oaks dropping acorns during some of the fall months would be hardly missed for those 20 years it takes to get them going. You would be way too busy killing deer from stands located along the corridors or at the food plot!

great ideas !..... I have thought about the japanese persimon ,crabapple, and pears. This is going to be hard work but a lot of fun also. At least it will be cool wheather at that time! I am 37 and I have 3 boys in age from 10,7 ,and almost 2 so I am trying to fix them a good place to hunt and I am geting out of a deercamp.......THANKS

I planted appx. 50 sawtooth oaks 5 years ago. Some will have acorns for the first time this fall.

If you decide to plant sawtooths, I would plant them 25 feet apart and on 25 foot rows. The trees will fill in this space well. I planted mine 18 ft x 18 ft which is a little to close apart.

I purchased my young trees from International Paper Co. The trees were appx. one to two feet in length and they were bareroot.

Also, you need to protect the young trees from browsing deer. I used 4 foot, Tubex Tree Tubes purchased from Forestry Suppliers in Jackson. These tubes will cost some money, but your trees will grow out the tubes the first summer, over 5 feet tall. If you do not protect your trees, the deer will keep sawtooths looking like a small bush.

Here are some pictures of my sawtooths.

There is NO way to rush Mother Nature
Oaks take time to mature some may produce acorns in 5 years but for a super crop of acorns you need a mature tree
My advice is plant for the future hunters unless you are still 16teen

welcome yellow lab !

whats the average on the age of sawtooths to produce acorns? Isn't it somewhere between 5-10 years?

Thanks!
My sawtooth oaks are 5 years old and they have a few acorns this year for the first time. It should only get better in the next few years.

According to a publication from the Alabama Co-operative Extension Service, WHEN GROWN UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS AND GIVEN PROPER CARE DURING THEIR EARLY GROWTH PERIOD, Sawtooth Oaks will begin acorn production at about 5 years of age, with acorn production ramping up rapdily thereafter. Here is their statement about Sawtooth Oak acorn production.

"Sawtooth oaks planted on reasonably productive sites using the guidelines described here will produce prolific crops of acorns in 7 to 10 years. Acorn production is fairly consistent year to year. However, minimal crops can be expected following late spring or early fall frosts. Yields from mature trees in good years range from 1,000 to 1,300 pounds of acorns per tree."

It is VERY important to plant the oaks where they will get full sunlight and NOT compete with other trees or even vegetation. Essentially, plant them in an open field, just as you would create a pecan orchard, except you are creating an acorn orchard. You will need to control vegetation under the trees for the first few years via mats, contact herbicides, or other methods for optimum results. And you will also need to protect the trees with tubes or cages from deer and other wildlife browsing or damaging the plants from antler rubbbing. Soil conditions are also important, including drainage. If you plant Sawtooth Oaks where they are shaded by other nearby trees, the Extension Service says they may get enought sunlight to survive but they may not produce any acorns. Thus if you want good acorn production, you will have to do things correctly and put in some consistent work to manage your acorn orchard until it is well established. However, you should get abundant quantities of acorn production by the time the trees are approaching 10 years old.

As stated, Sawtooth oaks are subject to "crop failure" when subjected to late spring or early fall frosts, so it is ALWAYS best to never depend on one variety of tree for your acorn production. Mix in some other varieties of oaks to get better, consistent acorn production year after year. Sawtooth Oaks drop their acorns in September and October, so if you want to keep deer interested in this location longer, other varieties of oaks that hold their acorns longer and drop them later in the hunting season, like water oaks, will help keep the deer in the area throughout the bulk of the hunting season.

I've never seen a mature sawtooth and thinking many others haven't also I thought I'd
post one. I'm somewhat surprised at the apparent timber value of this tree or lack thereof
except maybe for firewood. Just wondering if Folks are takeing this into consideration before
devoting so much acreage to these type trees ...

FC, I don't guess I"ve ever seen (or paid attention) to a mature sawtooth either. I bet that thing drops a ton of acorns

I imagine if you planted a lot, close together, you will end up thinning some of them.

According to FireCloud's post, a mature sawtooth could produce 1000 to 1300 lbs of acorns per year.

My picture that I posted is from a one acre food plot that I planted eleven sawtooth's in the north end. These trees could produce about 12,000 lbs of acrons in a few more years. That would be 240 - 50 lbs bags of acorns.

That is an amazing amout of acorn production from just eleven trees. That would feed alot of deer and turkey!

I'm thinking folks are planting these trees for their early production of acrons and their amount
of production. What's the rule of thumb of them out producing other types of oaks ? 2 to 1 or higher
also the quality/benefit of the acrons produced in comparison to others

that is some good info. I will space mine 25x25 when I plant them . I will also work as much as possible by tractor or spray. I think most people are planting sawtooth for that little bit faster production for themselves and also white oaks and others for their children to enjoy.(at least that is what I am doing) ....I am not concernd about timber value on this property since I have 65 more acres and the recreational value would be more to me...THANKS EVERYONE!

Sawtooth Oaks are not any significantly different in size from most other mature oak trees, but the quality of their wood is somewhat inferior than other oaks due to the faster growth rates. As mentioned by others, sawtooths make good firewood. If you are planting oaks for timber value, sawtooths would not be the best choice.

But for production of hard mast for deer and turkeys, they definitely are worth planting when the waiting time until acorn production is the deciding factor. And for producing large shade trees, sawtooths make good landscaping choices. Spacing is recommended in a 25 x 25 foot block pattern, as the tree canopies will spread to touch each other at maturity with this spacing. You should not have to thin any trees if spaced in this way. If you are interested in a somewhat better turkey acorn, a variety known as "Gobbler Sawtooth Oaks" is available that produces a smaller acorn more readily attractive to turkeys than the large acorns produced by the regular Sawtooths. Many nurseries carry this variety and they can be shipped to your location.

Here is the link to the Alabama Extension Service site.

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0851/

The Extension Service is associated with Auburn University and is much like the MSU Extension Service in our state. I previously had a publication by MSU that covered a variety of recommended tree plantings for wildlife that was excellent but cannot readily locate it right now. If I find it, I will post it later for everyone.

I think the bare root seedlings are about 2 feet tall when you buy them. Do you wait a while before you put tree protectors on the sawtooths or do you put shorter ones on first.

Put the 4 ft tree shelters/tubes on right after you plant. The trees will grow out the top of the tubes the first year.

Thanks Yellow Lab thats a big help!