As a trustee of baby trees it would make sense to give them a health check and to read up on problems they may face. I had noticed that a few were starting to develop whitening on the leaves. The internet is a wonderful thing when it can provide practical guidance and understanding.

Seems it is likely to be oak powdery mildew, which is blown in the air from tree to tree. So keeping the trees in close proximately to each other as we do is not ideal. Note to self… Task one, rearrange the pots so we make the best use of the space we have. Mildrews are fairly common and while they may stunt the growth of the trees by  covering the leaves with mycelia, preventing them from photosynthesising, it is unlikely the trees will die. Treatment would be either anti-fungal pesticide or in a world where pesticides are over used, the first port of call would be a solution of 4 parts water and 1 part milk.  Task 2 : I’ve decide opt for the milk and see how it goes. But I will wait until the weather has improved, so it wouldn’t just wash straight off in the rain.

Reading further about issues that arise in young oak saplings, it occurred to me they may be at risk of developing root rot. I hadn’t paid particular attention to the drainage in the pots.  The pots are small and just filled with either shop brought compost or soil from the front garden sometimes a mixture of both. Bearing in mind these baby oaks are now pretty really beginning to establish themselves I set myself a 3rd task for when the weather brightens up.  Re-pot into larger pots with gravel at the bottom and soil on top.  This should provide much better drainage and protect the plant for the nasty root rot.

I messaged a friend to ask, if I can pick up some larger pots he had laying around.