Quercus texana Buckley  

Flowering spring.

Nuttall oak seeds require 60 to 90  days cold stratification. They overwinter and germinate in the  spring when soil temperatures are 21° to 32° C (70°  to 90° F) (27). Seed germination percentages average  60 to 90 percent but germination varies by size and may be  reduced by acorn weevil damage. Larger acorns had somewhat higher  germination rates than smaller ones. The percent of germination  was unaffected even when seeds were submerged in water for as  long as 34 days (5). Germination is hypogeal (27). The  best natural seedbed for most Nuttall oaks is a moist soil,  covered with an inch or more of soil or leaf litter with partial  shade (12).

    Although rodents, turkeys, deer, and hogs eat many of the seeds,  natural reproduction in the bottom lands is usually abundant.  Seedlings are often killed by high water during the growing  season, but seedling survival, date of budbreak, or height growth  are not significantly affected. When grown in saturated soil for  16 weeks in winter and spring (3), Nuttall oak seedlings become  established both in the open or in shade, and can survive 5 to 10  years in the shade (15). Strong tap roots are developed  (13). Mycorrhizal roots were common on seedlings growing in  green-tree reservoir plots (9).

Young trees about 20  years old produced good seed crops for several years at  Stoneville, MS; this is probably the age at which optimum  seed-bearing begins. In the TVA arboretum at Norris, TN,  5-year-old trees bore acorns. There are generally good seed crops  every 3 or 4 years, and the average tree yields 6 to 35 kg (13 to  77 lb) of clean nuts in 9 to 53 liters (0.25 to 1.5 bushels). The  nuts average 209/kg (95/lb) (27). Water, rodents, and  birds disseminate the seed.

Nuttall oak is monoecious. The  male and female flowers appear in March and April at the time of  leaf flushing. The male flower appears 10 to 14 days before the  female flower. Male flowers are borne in clustered,  yellowish-green catkins. Inconspicuous female flowers are borne  in the axils of the new leaves and are found only by close  examination. The flowers are wind pollinated. The acorns ripen  from September to October of the second year and fall between  September and February.