I have plantes Quercus x schuetelei Sweetcornwhich is a hybrid between Quercus macrocarpa and Quercus bicolor. But to get the first acrons it will take stil a wile.
Someone knows Species and selections/cultiuvars with sweet acorn for colder areas with frost?
Best
Matthias
I had a bur oak and there is a swamp white oak in spring grove cemetery, but I donât know why 2 bad tasting acorns would cross to make a good acorn. I guess to wrongs can = a right
Hello, Matthias100 and welcome! This is a great group of growers here. I grow bur oaks, Schuetteâs, swamp white, white, and some others, mostly for wildlife. I have not tried any named sweet acorn varieties myself, but have heard good things about Ashworthâs Bur Oak. A lot of nurseries sell seedlings of it; they do not grow true to type and can be bitter. However, the original tree as a graft can be purchased from Cricket Hill Nursery.
Oikos Tree Crops was focused on this for many years. They still have some products available. Several years ago I ordered some things from them, and was pleased with the service.
None taste like candy. If those you mention are not edible to youâŚyou probably arenât going to find one you like.
I have eaten quite a lot nin Portugal from Quercus ilex var. rotundifolia (syn. Q. bellota)). They were quite sweet like hazelnuts. But the question is if there are hardy options for middle europe.
Thankfully we are blessed with a lot of wild white oaks here.
They are edible ⌠at least 1 or 3 at a time, but not âdeliciousâ.
The Quercus ilex or holm oak is evergreenâŚso itâs going to do fine if you have any other âlive oaksâ in your vicinity. And it could be safe in zone 7.
Also called HOLM oak. Iâve not tried any evergreen oaks or gum or maples in Kentucky.
We soak ours for 3 weeks. Then process them. Acorn flour is decent. I like to blend them to crumbles, toast them and use them as toppings or as an additive to give some meat and texture. Like muffins with berries.
I have heard Concordia oak is a productive sweet acorn. Apparently a three way cross :Swamp white x chinquapin oak x dwarf chinquapin oak.
I donât have this one but heard it is a precocious bearer
https://mdc12.mdc.mo.gov/Applications/TreeSeedling/Home/ProductDetails/25?
The evergreen oak variety, Quercus Rotundifolia (ssp, Ballota) produces âsweetâ acorns, these are commonly eaten by the pigs allowed to roam & theyâre used to produce the famous Jamon Iberico, in Spain obvs. Iâve read that human consumption is mostly via these acorns being ground into a flour, although there are other uses.
I also found a useful report from Southern Europe about the hardiness of young saplings surviving -20c, for several days, during a 10 day frost at -5 to -10, with frozen leaves & varied leaf loss. Even those that lost all their leaves survived & although growth was initially retarded, they later recovered & thrived. Ssp Ballota may be hardy to -27.
My understanding that deciduous Oaks do not produce sweet acorns so they need preparation to reduce the bitter tannins. So leaching processes are used. American white & black oaks are said to be less tannic)
However simply grinding & roasting the raw paste/ grounds can reputedly make a good coffee-ish nutty flavoured hot drink, made like coffee. (The roasting removes or reduces the bitter tannins) It became known in Europe as Ersatz coffee before & during WW2 but real coffee eventually became cheaper.
I imagine Ballota oak acorns would be even better for the above.
Well Flowboy, I think I have to correct some of your statements.
1st) Quercus rotundifolia is often a misspelled name of the Variety Quercus ilex var. rotundifolia!
2nd) Quercus bellota is an old or stil local synonym of Quercus ilex var. rotundifolia!
3th) Some individuals of Quercus ilex var. rotundifolia or Quercus suber tend to have sweet acorns stored in their basic genes, but this can vary depending on the weather conditions within a growing season. Sometimes the acorns are somewhat bitter with a little tannin, sometimes totally sweet, but basically sweeter than most individuals of these two species and subspecies. There are other Mediterranean oak species that tend to have naturally sweet acorns. But that one particular species always has sweet acorns is wrong.
4th) Pigs were and are driven through oak forests, regardless of whether the acorns are sweet or not.
Excuse me, but what you have read from books contains many false statements, as is so often the case with such literature! I`m telling you from my practical workexperience, also from talks with locals!