Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Sawtooth Oak

Alabama Wildlife Federation has written an article that basically slams the planters of Sawtooth Oaks in Alabama. I am one of those being targeted for I have a beautifull stand of trees that produce a fine acorn. The article uses data gather in the late 1950 and early 1960. I did not find the article very convincing. I would like some feed back about the cons of the Sawtooth oak tree. I am in a hunt house as I write and a small 8 point just stuck his nose on a low hanging sawtooth branch. Thanks for your comments in advance.

What was the basis of their criticism?

Im no oak expert. I do know my dad loves them and has planted several. From what I have seen the deer love them. The ones he planted produce many acorns but most of them drop before deer season comes in. I have no idea why anyone would be against planting them.

I am stil in the hunt house and will answer your question later. Today has been the best hunt I have had since 2005 purchase of the land. deer moved back into bedding area at 8:30. Two- eights, huge 7, male turkey trying to mate another male, both huge and dragging. several spikes and a three pointer...and a one pointer.

Dang I need to get off this sofa and get my azz in the woods!

Need issue of AWF to read article please.

You expect us to make intellectual comments without the all the facts and info?

Oh, yea, this is Aldeer.


God Bless,
David B.

Ok lighten up. Alabama Wildlife Volume 77 No.1 Winter Issue 2013,page 8. The Sawtooth is as we all know in the exotic plant family and this is the rub with the two biologist that take credit for the articles content in question. The writers think the Sawtooth is a threat as Chinese privet as an example. They see less food value than native oaks and basically people like me are being sold down the river on what will turn out to be a major threat to native ecosystems vs a food supplement for wildlife(deer) in my case. The writers mirror something that the EPA would come up with vs an active supporter of improved wildlife habit. I would be hard pressed to sell their conclusions on 1959 data and surprised this article made it by the Editorial Board of the Alabama Wildlife.

i think it has been proven that they are not a threat like chinese privet. maybe this research was done in the period where there werent hardly any deer in alabama. i dont know when that was because i was not around then.but if that is the period when this research was done, and there were not animals eating all the acorns the sawtooths were putting out every year and the acorns were all left to sprout, then with the short time to maturity for these trees and the abundant seeds(acorns) that come from them on a yearly basis unlike other oaks that will have a bumper crop maybe every 5 years then yes i would see where they could be rather invasive and prolific. but in these times with as high of a deer population as we have i dont ever see a single sawtooth acorn left to sprout.

boff before you go all punctuation nazi on me, i know this is a run on sentence and i did not capitalize or put into paragraph form and you will probably give me an f on this.

Sawtooths don't like competition they need to have their space. Plant one in an existing hardwood bottom and it won't last long. Don't think they are a risk of becoming a nuisance.

I found a stand of about 30 sawtooth's trees any where from baseball size to big enough to climb 18 ft in.And it's some of the best Bow hunting I've seen.And this is on public land to boot.

Sawtooth acorns very rarely sprout from laying on the ground the have to go through a winter 35deg or colder for 30 days or longer we donnot have that in the south. If you look around these trees you wont see any young trees. I dont see where they can grow like privet. It was almost 60 today. Sawtooth planted in the woods rarely produce acorns. They need to be planted in an open area they need sunshine.

I was hunting today with a friend.

You get a pass today buddy!

Now I need to find that issue and do some reading.

God Bless,
David B.

I am no expert either, but from my experience sawtooth oaks do no like to share space and I have yet to see any sprouts. The closer you plant the sawtooth to a stand of pines the slower the growth and the tree will never completely mature. I planted on thirty foot centers and now wish I had used forty or better. I really think more study from the two writers is warranted and they can use my place as study hall. The article shows a photo burning sawtooth oat to prevent the spread. I stopped by the Wildlife Group nursery a few days ago to see what they had in inventory. Planning to purchase more sawtooth oaks. And you thought you had a gun problem!!!!

To compare sawtooths to chinese privet is such a ludicrous comparison that whoever wrote it should have all their credentials pulled and given a dibble and made to plant trees for a living. Gobbler, that ain't your name on that article, is it?

I haven't read the article, but there is already plenty of good info in this thread. There is a 0% chance of sawtooths becoming an invasive species of any significance in AL. I've got some that are 20 years old and 15' tall because they don't get enough sun. Others are 60' tall and produce a bunch of acorns every year. The bad thing is they bear too early and usually are all gone before even bow season comes in. There have been a few years when I got to hunt around them the first week of bow season; this year every last one of them was gone before Oct. 15.

Sawtooths are no danger to a property, but I wish I had planted mostly white oaks instead. I'd have oaks that were producing lots of acorns by now, and they would stay on the trees til hunting season. If all you wanta do is feed deer, then sawtooths will work. If you want something to hunt around, go with something else.

We have a plot with several sawtooths in that have a lot of young sprouts on the ground coming up. Not saying it doesn't happen, but we have them growing up for us. I also planted a few acorns at the house last winter that are around 2ft now in the back yard.

Only complaint I have is they're gone by thanksgiving. You want something that hangs on, then plant some live oaks. You'll have acorns through January.

Count me in the "hate em" column:

This is a white oak and sawtooth planted the same day about 13 years before. pic taken on Oct 15. Sawtooth all dropped and gone, white oak loaded. Both same size and both excellent crops of acorns. Go Native! I've found plenty of sawtooth that are starting to regenerate by themselves in the woods. And, no, I didn't write or have anything to do with the article, however, there was an excellent article on hardwood management in that issue..... hmmm...

Gobbler, I see your pointin the Sawtooth dropping early and thus not making the crop huntable...but....think of it this way. You have a nice white and sawtooth side by side and thus doubled your feeding duration with the crops falling and keeping your deer in the area to feed. The Sawtooth starts early season dropping and feeding the deer and by the time it is about done the White Oak next to it starts dropping! Win win for you the way I see it!

Yep