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Pages from Gert's book
It was a great pleasure for me to be able to write about my...
Gert Fortgens | Feb 15, 2024
Quercus marlipoensis acorns
A new study has analyzed the germination characteristics of...
Website Editor | Feb 15, 2024
Gall on Quercus grahamii
A new species of oak gall wasp has been named in honor of...
Website Editor | Feb 14, 2024

Plant Focus

A small but mature Alabama sandstone oak producing acorns © Patrick Thompson
A Critically Endangered dwarf oak 

Oaks On a Finnish Farm

My hobby is forestry. I live in Finland, which is usually know for pines, firs and birches. Now I try to plant oaks too. Here are some of the oaks on my farm in Finland: two Quercus robur that are about 100 years old and some of the seedlings I have planted. For more details see my Member Profile here.(Click on the images to enlarge)

Two large Quercus robur, about 100 years old

Same oaks in winter three years ago. The birches have been cut down now so that the oaks get more light.

The same oaks blooming in spring... ...and in July this year.
Two Q. robur seedlings that I have marked in the forest. I have counted over 400 seedlings and I think they all come from the two old oaks on my property, but there are some old oaks on neighbors' backyards too. The farm is my childhood home and I remember only the two old oaks.  
A marked Q. robur seedling This seedling has been eaten by rabbits last winter, but is still growing. Rabbits are a big problem for spontaneous oak seedlings.
Young Q.robur in the forest. I have pruned the lower branches because I try to grow timber trees.
A Q. bicolor seedlings I have planted Q. prinus
Q. ellipsoidalis. I leave weeds around them, as I hope it may hide the seedlings from the rabbits. Q. gambelii
Q. palustris Q. rubra grown from an acorn I planted
Q. rubra I planted last fall Wild cloudberries in the forest
Wild blueberries Standing next to a young Q. robur