"Sounds like a great project!
What hybrids are you planting? I've got a Concordia oak or two, some Bur's, DCO's, and quite a few Sawtooths that I've planted. Also lots of pear, apple, and persimmon's. It's addicting like pond habitat is."
I have planted some Bur X Swamp White Hybrid (Quercus macrocarpa X Quercus bicolor) in some of my lower, wetter ground. Three of those have reached 8' tall in 3 years.
I have also planted some English X White Hybrid (Quercus robur X Quercus alba) that have grown fairly well.
Lastly, I have planted some Bur X Gambel Hybrid (Quercus macrocarpa X Quercus gambelii) that are supposed to be more drought resistant. However, most of those have failed to thrive. I did plant them in some of my worst (sandiest) soil conditions where I wanted to try for some oak trees. That poor soil did result in less available water and more damage from the darn pocket gophers.
The geology changes quite a bit from my property to your property. My property is all sand and siltstone as the parent material for my soils. I suspect you may have some limestone outcrops on your property?
Maybe some of the hybrid oak options will perform really well at your place if you match them to your soil types! You also get more water than I do.
P.S. I did plant two pure Swamp White Oaks (Quercus bicolor) in two depressions that stay damp most of the year. One of them produced tiny acorns in Year 5 or 6? Those depressions did go dry during the drought, but those trees were well-established by then and have survived the drought with no problems with my periodic hand watering.
P.P.S. Certainly agree with you on the tree addiction! We both reside in Kansas where there is generally a tree deficit. Once we live at our property, I am definitely going to add more trees for the long term benefits for both the humans and the wildlife.
That's a good mix of oaks!
Yes, stone outcroppings and limestone just under the soil in most spots. No sand, quite a bit of clay.
We're right on a line for rain. Lots of rain east of us, little rain to the west. Sometimes the rain shifts one way or the other for a season or two. ie - one year we get a part of the rains that are headed east and the next year we get almost none of those rains. I've watched a lot of lightening to the east of us this year but the ponds and creeks are pretty dang low!
