I found this interesting, Thought I'd share it.


______________________________________________________
From:Mindy Mortensen
Subject:Hybrid Oaks
To:AABGACOL@LIST.MSU.EDU


We have just harvested our hybrid oak acorns here at Red Butte Garden.
For those of you who do not know about our large hybrid Quercus
collection, a little background info--Dr. Walter P. Cottam conducted a
large scale research project on hybrid oaks in the 1960s. This project was
derived in 1954 when a graduate student, Rudy Drobnick, found an
interesting oak in the Oquirrh Mountains (about 20 miles west of Salt Lake
City). He brought this specimen to Dr. Cottam who sent it to several
experts in the country. It was concluded that it was a hybrid of Quercus
gambelii (Gambel's oak) and Utah's only live oak, Quercus turbinella,
common now only in the warm Dixie area of the state. After a lot of
research, these two men hybridized many species of oaks and planted them
mainly in what is now called Cottam's Grove (part of Red Butte Garden).
Not all of the trees have produced acorns.
For those of you that are interested, we have a small quantity of acorns
available. Free pollination has taken place since these oaks were planted
in the 1960s.
Quercus macrocarpa X turbinella X macrocarpa
Quercus gambelii X turbinella
Quercus pedunculata X turbinella
Quercus pedunculata X macrocarpa
There are some other crosses available in very small quantities. Call
(801)585-0576 or email (mmortensen@redbutte.utah.edu) if you are interested
or have further questions.

Mindy Mortensen
Curator of Plant Records
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum
(801)585-0576
Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little
flower.
--Mary Engelbreit

Reply to post by JPS, on September 22, 1999 at 19:50:32:

I received a seedling hydrid oak Quercus turbinellaXQuercus lobata from Fort Collins Nursery Wholesale as part of a collection purchased at Pro-Green in Denver this winter. I am about to plant this seedling tree and would love to know of it's cultural requirements that might help me place it properly. Any information would be greatly appreciated. We are at 6700 ft. sandy loam soil, pH 7.4, zone 5a. Thanks, Diane Cridler