Our time has come round at last―post oaks are dropping their acorns!
A year ago, our old, on-site native post oaks showed no signs of acorn production. Campus trees were inspected, as well as two large stands in Caddo parish. This was troublesome because the continued diminution of the campus post oak population necessitates a germination project. Back in September, our sights were set on the two old post oaks near the Sam Peters Building, simply because acorn clusters were identified. Pictured below are the first participants for our germination project.
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Two mature, on-site native post oaks are pictured center, in the above cluster of trees. They stand at the top of a hill near the Sam Peters Building. A mature, on-site native southern red oak, also pictured, has been growing alongside these post oaks for a very, very long time.
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A total of 16 post oak acorns were collected, but only 10 were selected to be planted. The chosen 10 are shown in the above photo. More acorns will hopefully drop; these are just some of the first ones to hit the ground. Keep in mind that the Centenary campus squirrel population is vigorous and mostly uncontrolled, so the arboretum curator has fierce competition for these gems.
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One acorn already started to sprout! Hopefully we found it at the right time. These 10 acorns are in the dirt and watered in. Let's see what happens!
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