Gardening: Consider a Shumard Oak for your yard

Gardening by David Wall

Editor’s Note: David Wall notified the Jimpelcute this week that his weekly Gardening column will be stopping after the December 27th edition. David told us he’s 81, has written 741 columns since 2011 and “just doesn’t have that much more to say” about gardening. David will be sorely missed. If you’re interested in supplying the Jimplecute with a regular column on gardening, please let us know. The Jimplecute hopes to publish a “best of” and David will be supplying about one column a month starting in the near future.

David Wall/Contributing Writer

Oaks are initially divided into two groups.  With only 4-5 exceptions, white oaks have leaves with rounded lobes, and red oaks which have pointed lobes.   Within the red oak family, a relatively unknown species called Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii Buckl).

 Shumard oaks are a member of the southern red oak family, and are one of the largest members of that group.  They accept virtually all soil types in our area, and very few insects attack it.  Life expectancy is one hundred years plus, and it’s known to live to 400+ years.  Neil Sperry, a nationally known horticulturalist was noted that if he could only have one tree in his yard, it would be a Shumard oak (SO)!

 SOs normally reach up to 115’ with a diameter of 39” and a crown of 60’, although under ideal conditions can reach 200’ tall, 60” in diameter, and a crown of 90’. The bole or trunk is vertically straight.  They can survive flooding for up to six weeks a year and have a deeply rooted buttress (wide roots on all sides) to provide support under wet conditions.

 Leaves are typically large (up to 8”) with 5-9 lobes ending in pointed tips.  Leaves provide browsing food for deer.  They turn red in late fall (November & December) and may have some yellows mixed in.  Acorns are normally 1” in diameter and attractive to deer, turkey, quail, squirrels, water fowl and other animals.  They take anywhere from 1.5 to 3 years to develop and don’t appear for at least the tree’s first 25 years.  SOs tolerate both acidic and alkali soils and are drought resistant.

SOs make great shade trees but also have considerable commercial value.  SO lumber is considered better than other red oaks and used in flooring, furniture, paneling, cabinets, trim, and molding.

Get Ready for Onions

Onions are a fun crop to grow, requiring minimal soil preparation and very little maintenance. They tolerate most soils and transplant extremely well. They have a history possibly exceeding 5,000 years, so they’ve been around awhile, and it’s hard to imagine many foods without them. There are many varieties, and new varieties seemed to be in continual development. 

Typical varieties include yellow, white and purple (red). Vedalias are considered tops, but are more expensive and seldom available for transplanting. They usually have to be grown from seed. Your local nurseries and/or hardware stores will usually have several varieties for transplanting around 15 January. Buy what you need and immediately get them in the ground.

Planting onion seeds should have already been accomplished by now, and few of us plant onion bulbs, so let’s looks at transplants. There are numerous onion sets sold in your areas, and all are good, so the choice is yours. For soil, Onions are heavy feeders, so good soil is preferred. For best results in poor soil, amend it with quality compost and add a little slow-release fertilizer. You can grow onions in your garden or almost anywhere they get plenty of sun. They’re great companion plans for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cabbages & flowers, but should never be grown with peas, beans, asparagus, garlic, shallots or leeks.

Onions do better in raised beds, so simply space transplants 4” apart and 1” deep. You can go deeper, but final bulb sizes seem to be smaller. Seedling bulb size when transplanting is NOT an indication of the final bulb size. For a planting example, put a pin where a tomato plant will be located in May. Then, press the tomato cage in the soil. The plant and cage are now known, so put the transplants everywhere else!!!

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