Evergreen oak

[davholla]

I am thinking of buying
Quercus ilex - Holm Oak (e/green) 50-60 cm
from
www.cooltemperate.co.uk.

However to save on delivery I want to buy them now, plant them and the re-plant to the right spot when it is ready next year.
The reason is because now I am ready to plant gooseberries or will be soon.

[davholla]

[Palustris]

None of the Oaks are too keen on root disturbance. The recommendation is to plant them as young speciemens. If you must take delivery of one now, then put it in a pot and plant in its final pot from there, rather than moving it from the ground.

[davholla]

It will only be a few months so do you think it will be ok ?

[Palustris]

No trouble in a pot. If you are worried about the winter, then plant the pot in the soil and that way it is protected from  the cold. You could take the risk of planting the tree in the soil, it may well be ok, but why take unneeded risks?

[tim]

We wanted one, but it was thought to be too cold here.

[ACE]

We wanted one, but it was thought to be too cold here.

I do not want one, the neighbours tree cuts out the light, sheds its leathery leaves all over my beds and they do not compost easily. I dig up thousands of seedlings and dump them every year. It's just a very large weed.

There is a stump down in the corner of the garden, it must have been cut down over 20 years ago. I've had fires on top of it, used stump rot, diesel, hacked it about, It is buried now and it still throws up new growth.

[davholla]

You could sell the seedlings rather than dump them.  How big are they ?

[ACE]

You could sell the seedlings rather than dump them.  How big are they ?

Seedlings are usually between 6 and 18 inches high before I hoe them up. I suppose I could sell them if I could find somebody daft enough to buy them. Go to any park and get a handful of acorns for free, they will all grow. The national trust had to get a herd of goats to keep them from growing on the downs.