On December 10, 2022, volunteers from the community established 29 planting sites containing 3 acorns each. We ended up with 65% of the acorns germinating and 26 of the 29 planting sites having at least one established oak seedling; a 90% success rate. One year after planting each oak seedling was measured for its height. The majority of the oak seedlings reached a height of 14 inches or better. The smallest seedling was 4” in height and the tallest was 39 inches.
Potted oaks, grown at the Gateway Ranch nursery, were planted into the three empty planting sites in December 2023. In January 2024, at each planting site, volunteers removed the smaller oaks leaving only the healthiest and tallest at each site. Some of the roots of the plants removed had grown to 26 inches in length, a testament to the priority the oaks give to root elongation and growth. The seedlings at this restoration site were never provided with any supplemental water; they germinated, established, and grew solely on the available soil moisture.
