Canadian Source for Quercus garryana Acorns

Discussion in 'Pacific Northwest Native Plants' started by vitog, Nov 14, 2017.

  1. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    I've been buying Garry Oak acorns from Twining Vine Garden in Fanny Bay, BC, for a few years and have had good results. I'd like to get some more this year; but they seem to have gone out of business, because their Website now only provides this message: "We've closed the store to take inventory and catch up on much neglected duties. Since we're so short staffed, this will take a few days....like think a week if all goes well." This message has appeared for at least the last month; so it appears that they will not be able to supply acorns this year. Does anyone know another Canadian source for Garry Oak acorns?
     
  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

    Messages:
    10,794
    Likes Received:
    2,227
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC Canada
    Take a trip to Victoria, walk around the neighbourhood around Craigdarroch Castle? I don't know if you're a senior - there's a senior's price on the ferry M-Th; you can take the bus downtown and walk over, or there are buses to that area. There are a LOT of Garry Oaks, seemed like every street, and seemed like a lot of acorns on the ground.
     
    Kurt Schneider likes this.
  3. chimera

    chimera Well-Known Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,771
    Likes Received:
    62
    Location:
    Fraser Valley, B.C. ,Canada
    Some reported at UBC , wonder if "The Shop in the Garden" has any. Some other locations shown on the map.
    E-Flora BC Map Gallery
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
  4. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Thanks for the responses. I've tried collecting acorns locally years ago, but they seem to be grabbed by squirrels as soon as they are ripe enough. It would be way too late now. I'll check with "The Shop in the Garden".
     
  5. Kurt Schneider

    Kurt Schneider Member

    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    Tai-Cities, BC
    Even this time of year you can still find acorns, especially if you "kick" your way through the leaves. If you're lucky, you can find acorns in the process of germinating (this is how I got my two Gary oaks - now both 6+ feet tall). :)
     
    Georgia Strait likes this.
  6. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Thanks, Kurt. I suspect that the acorns that you find under the leaves were probably hidden there by squirrels. I frequently find acorns in my garden under a thin layer of wood chips. The problem is that I don't know of any area near Vancouver that has an isolated or group of pure Garry Oak. If not isolated, the tree is likely to receive pollen from the many kinds of introduced oaks and produce hybrid offspring. Even the Garry Oaks in UBCBG are relatively close to other species. I'm not sure how far oak pollen travels, but I would want to be sure that I'm not planting hybrids.
     
  7. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Unless you know otherwise I wouldn't assume it crosses readily with others.
     
  8. Kurt Schneider

    Kurt Schneider Member

    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    Tai-Cities, BC
    True - my Garry Oaks came from Pender (sp?) Island in the Gulf Islands. That being said (in the past and not every year, but some years) I believe Amsterdam Nurseries in Pitt Meadows has had Garry Oaks. If you want to buy live a tree(s). Might be worth giving them a call IMHO.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2017
  9. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Ron, I didn't have any specific information about cross-pollination of Garry Oaks; I was just playing it safe. However, your reply made me curious about it, and a brief search on the Web showed that oaks are generally susceptible to hybridization. One Swiss study in a stand of trees containing two species of oaks showed that the study tree was pollinated by other oaks in the stand up to 346 m away and that 22% of the tree's seeds were pollinated by oaks outside of the study stand.

    Kurt, I have access to seedling Garry Oaks; that's how I started my attempt at establishing an oak grove in the north shore mountains. They did not work very well, because the plantings can't be watered. I think that planting acorns should work better, and acorns are a lot cheaper to replace than potted trees. Many of the planted trees have died as a result of recent dry summers.
     
  10. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Thing is I've been involved in growing of numbers of Garry oaks from acorns in the past and I don't ever remember seeing a single visually apparent hybrid. So you may be creating an obstacle for yourself worrying about hybrid seed. Also if any hybrids did appear this would probably look the part, could be culled later.
     
    Georgia Strait likes this.
  11. Kurt Schneider

    Kurt Schneider Member

    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    Tai-Cities, BC
    Im curious, but why exactly are you trying to start a grove on the N.S. Mtns (and roughly where? Not asking for specifics! Just curious). Except for areas like Lighthouse Park, etc, its not exactly "prime" Oak habitat.

    Cheers.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 5, 2017
    Georgia Strait likes this.
  12. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Ron, where did you get your Garry Oak acorns? Were there other types of oaks nearby? The only location of Garry Oaks near home that I'm aware of is in UBCBG, and that location is right next to the Carolinian Forest Garden with its eastern oak species.
     
  13. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    1,336
    Location:
    Nanoose Bay, BC Canada
    After a lifetime in Burnaby, coveting Garry Oak and Arbutus, I now live in Garry Oak and Arbutus heaven on Vancouver Island. I would happily give you any acorns I could find but am not out in the garden too much these days. Would you be interested in acorns that are already starting to germinate in the spring? I would be happy to courier them to you then if you'd cover the cost. Let me know.
     
  14. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Margot, thanks for the offer. I would be happy to pay any shipping costs for some Garry Oak acorns. I'll send you a personal message (edit: apparently, now it's called starting a conversation), and we can exchange email addresses to continue this discussion.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2017
  15. Brenda1965

    Brenda1965 New Member

    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sechelt
    Margo, would you happen to have acorns for sale still? I'm interested in purchasing some from you if you do (and paying the shipping). Thank you in advance!
     
  16. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    1,336
    Location:
    Nanoose Bay, BC Canada
    Hello Brenda - I'd be happy to give you some acorns just for the cost of shipping - if I can still find any that don't have too-long roots. Last fall was a banner year for Garry Oak acorn production; literally 1000s. Some were germinating even while on the trees. I'll go out tomorrow and see if I can find any suitable.
     
    Brenda1965 likes this.
  17. Brenda1965

    Brenda1965 New Member

    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sechelt
    Thank you Margot!
     
  18. Louis A

    Louis A Member

    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    22
    Location:
    Fraser Valley
    I may be late to the party, but there are Garry oak on Sumas mountain in Abbotsford. A hike up there might yield some acorns.
     
  19. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    Louis A, I searched Sumas Mtn for several years before I found them; they're not exactly abundant or obvious. The location is very difficult to reach unless you can get permission to use a private road.
     
  20. Louis A

    Louis A Member

    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    22
    Location:
    Fraser Valley
    they are confined to one primary stand of oaks. Growing up here I guess I take that for granted.
     
    Kurt Schneider likes this.
  21. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Click on the colored dots for details, note Zoom To hyperlinks contained within information boxes that appear. These links can be clicked on repeatedly to get closer and closer views of the collection site locations.

    E-Flora BC: Interactive Map
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2020
  22. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    It should be noted that the E-Flora map shows 3 separate spots on Sumas Mtn, and the westernmost and easternmost spots have the same location description: "1 km west of Quadling Farm". So, you can't trust the spots on the map. The verbal descriptions are more accurate.
     
  23. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    1,336
    Location:
    Nanoose Bay, BC Canada
    I can't say enough good things about E-Flora BC and all I have learned because of it. Still, their maps may be incomplete recording the incidence of many plants besides Garry Oaks.

    For example, on the E-Flora map, there is no mention of these trees on Vancouver Island between Nanaimo and the Winchelsea Islands when I know for a fact that there are dozens of other locations - to the point where they are pretty much contiguous all along the east coast.
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2020
  24. ginsenghamster

    ginsenghamster Active Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    65
    Likes Received:
    10
    Location:
    Fanny Bay, BC Canada
    Twining Vine Garden is back.
     
  25. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Maps of where herbarium collections have been made are not distribution maps showing everywhere a species is known to be present.
     

Share This Page