No acorns on white oaks

[whitenack]

We went to the city cemetary this morning to collect acorns for planting. This is a very old place with plenty of huge oaks. The majority of oaks were bur and red, which i was pleased with. However, i want white oaks also. The cemetary only had a few of this species, and none of them had any acorns. Not only were there not any on the ground, but there weren't any on any branches i could see. The trees were old enough (i think, they had trunks 2-3 feet in diameter and probably 100' tall), and looked to be in good health.

What could be the reason for a total lack of production? When do white oaks drop their acorns? I know that there are years when production is less than others, but a total stoppage?

 

[whitenack]

the only stress that i can think of is the lack of rain we have had this year. However, the rest of the oaks (bur and red) had plenty of acorns

The white oaks are in the older sections of the cemetary, so there are few disturbances.

 

[Toddppm]

Squirrels? My big White Oak has very little this year, only ones I've seen on the ground were little green ones that were still on the branches the squirrels dropped.
Had a bumper crop year before last that was insane, this year was a drought yr. here.

 

[geofore]

acorns

We had a late frost here after an early warm up in the spring. 70's and 80's in march and april then frost third week of may for 5 days and drought. Of the 200 or so of walnut I looked at 5 had nuts, the rest were bare. Of the oak, one was covered with acorns and hundreds had none. It seems to run in cycles, some years lots and other years next to none. Yellow and Ohio buckeye had lots of buckeyes but the leaves were burned off from lack of water it is also the cicades (17 year cycle) here, the oak have the tips browned out from the cicades. Western PA.

 

[TREETX]

Great point about a late freeze.

I have noted that oak here tend to produce good if not better in extreme drought. I believe it is the tree putting all it has into the next generation.

Good luck with the growing

 

[Jay Banks]

Also, oaks tend to produce heavy every other season too. Just may be a light year.

 

[Nickrosis]

A couple brief points:

"Numerous weather factors influence acorn production. Late spring freezes are not uncommon in Alabama. When that happens, white oaks yield few or no acorns and red oaks produce none or few the second fall after the late spring freeze."
--Robert Waters, Wildlife Biologist USDA Soil Conservation Service
http://www.pfmt.org/wildlife/somethings/appendix6.htm

"For example, among white oaks in Pennsylvania, only 30 percent of large, healthy trees produced any acorns even in good seed years and an even smaller proportion produced a good crop in those years."
--Paul S. Johnson, Principal Silivlculturist; Taken from Technical Brief, March 1994, USDA Forest Service
http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/inwood/past issues/HowtoManageOakForestsforAcornProduction.htm

I think that should answer your question sufficiently. As I understand it, what you observed is perfectly normal.

Nickrosis

 

[Tom Dunlap]

A late frost is the best suspect.

Yesterday I was out in the woods deadwooding burr/white oaks. The acorns were dropping naturally and making quite a racket. The next tree was pretty tall and bushy so I set the Big Shot all the way out. I missed the crotch and hit a branch. You should have heard the acorns drop. Almost sounded like thunder! After setting the line on the next shot I pulled the rope in and did a bounce test before ascending. Good thing I had my Talion Kevlar helmet and didn't look up. A couple of acorns hit me while pruning. Pretty odd feeling!

Tom

 

[Jay Banks]

Tom,
Sounds like the revenge of the oaks, maybe a murder mystery there.