A bumper crop of acorns takes place after every two to five years.All oak trees produce acorns. Though they used to be a staple food of many societies, acorns do not serve as food that often now.Even though Acorns are packed with various kinds of nutrients, there is still a debate if they are safe to consume or not. An acorn is a nut. It is a simple dry fruit that contains a single seed enclosed in a hard and leathery shell. Acorn fruit is an important source of food for many animals. These animals also serve as dispersal agents for the acorn, spreading the germination range of acorn beyond the scope of the parent tree. At a certain point in time, the acorn was a staple food item for people in North America. In Europe and Asia, acorns are used to make bread of flavored jelly. Animals that eat acorns include birds, squirrels, and other small animals. Large animals such as deer, bears, and pigs also consume acorns. However, acorns are toxic to animals such as horses. Few varieties of acorns are edible for humans as well. These might be eaten raw, baked, or cooked. After you are done reading about the boom and bust cycles in acorn production, do read about where are tomatoes from and where do pineapples grow.How often do acorns fall?Oak trees have an irregular cycle of boom and bust years. Acorns are usually brown in color.Mast years, which are also called boom times, happen every two to three years with the production of smaller acorn fruits in between the cycle. Sometimes, due to stress such as rain, too hot summer, or weather conditions, acorns might drop in months like July. September and October are the months for collecting acorns. You can look at the number of acorns and their color to have an idea of the oak tree’s health. The best acorn crop seems to follow the warm spring weathermen. Mid-May is important for acorn production as that is the time when pollination happens. If the weather is cool or wet during that period, it will result in a bad acorn crop. It takes about a month for the oak tree to drop all the acorns. Acorns from the white oak tree are the smallest. Black and red oak acorns are medium in size, and chestnut oak produces the largest acorn. Both white oaks and chestnut oaks are low in tannins which makes them better suited for animals instead of red and black acorns. Oak trees have female flowers and male flowers on the same tree. Nuts produced by oak trees during mast season serve as an important food source for wildlife. More acorns on the ground mean more deer and mice. Mice are blamed for the spread of Lyme disease, and due to the increase in the number of acorns produced, the number of mice feeding on them also increases. This increases the chance of transmission of Lyme disease from mice to humans.How many acorns do oak trees produce?An average oak tree has a life cycle of about 150 years, and throughout its life, it goes through many changes. Some oak trees have lived for more than 1000 years as well! The region of North America has the largest number of oak tree species.All oak trees produce acorns. The short-lived varieties of oak trees die around the age of 50-60. The lifespan of these oak trees also depends on the environmental conditions they are surrounded by, pests and diseases. The lifespan of an oak tree depends on its species. Some of them live for 80 years, and others live for more than 150 years. The Mingo Oak is the oldest oak tree in North America. Every oak tree begins its journey as an acorn, and each acorn contains one seed. Oak trees are generally giant in size. When oak trees are fully matured, they have a height of about 70 ft (21.3 m), and their width can go up to 9 ft (2.74 m). The branches of these majestic trees can reach up to 53 in (135 cm) in length. Female and male oak trees do not exist, but oak trees produce both male and female flowers. The male flowers contain a stalk-like structure known as catkins. The ideal time for catkins to appear is summertime, and this can also be the time where the growth of oak trees picks up. The female flower is smaller in comparison to the male flower and cannot be seen with naked eyes. Female flowers of the oak tree usually appear a week or two before the appearance of the male flower. Birds such as blue jays help with the process of pollination. It takes several years for a sapling to grow into an oak tree, and it can take 20 years for a sapling to become a mature oak tree. In its complete lifetime, an oak tree produces about 10 million acorns. An average 100-year-old oak tree will produce about 2000 acorns each year or even more. During a mast year, oak trees can drop more than 10,000 acorns! When an oak tree reaches near the age of 700, they come towards the end of their lifecycle, and the production of these nuts slows down, and its growth is very sluggish during this period. Around the age of 1000, the oak tree starts dying slowly, with certain parts of the tree beginning to rot. Oak trees decompose and become slump. Inside this slump, thousands of different bacteria and viruses thrive. The peak age of acorn production of an oak tree is between 50-80 years. Oak trees that produce the most nuts are those with high canopies, which allows these trees to receive more sunlight. Oak trees that are down in the forest receive less sunlight and produce less acorn.What does it mean when acorns fall early?If acorns are dropping early, it can mean several different things.One of the many reasons for the early dropping of acorns is extreme summer. During eat, all plants will lose water through their leaves, stems, and flowers. This process is known as transpiration. This hot weather can be the reason behind the acorns falling early. In this hot weather, temperatures are pretty high, and there is an increase in wind speed. This also affects the underground water table, which can result in less water being available. Water loss can cause the oak tree to be ‘stressed,’ which can also be seen by its decreased growth than usual. An oak tree that is stressed would not produce that many acorns and these nuts will fall before they get the chance to mature. Long rainy seasons can cause disruption for oak tree’s pollination, and they can be inadequately pollinated. If the tree is not pollinated properly, the unpollinated fruits will eventually drop early. An oak tree that has poor health or is suffering from diseases will also drop the nut early every year. The soil composition also affects the production of acorns. Acorn’s physical structure will be reduced, and they will fall early if the oak tree has fewer nutrients than what it needs. Diseases such as Oak Leaf Blister, Leaf Spot, Powdery Mildew, and Armillaria Root Rot can also affect an oak tree’s acorn production and make them fall early. Oak trees can also be stressed by natural or human activities. When the roots of an oak tree are harmed, they will slowly start to die, and acorns can start falling prematurely. Strong winds can cause tree branches and acorns on them might fall prematurely as well. It is important to not prune the branches if you want to protect oak trees from strong winds. An intense insect infestation can cause the oak tree to die as well. The most common insects which are to be blamed for the premature falling of acorns are stink bugs, shuck worms, and black aphids.What time of year do acorns fall?Generally, acorns fall from oak trees during the time between early fall to mid-fall. However, this can depend on different varieties of oak trees as well. Whether it be cold or warm, spring or autumn, the health of an Oak tree depends on the patterns of the weather. A healthy oak tree starts producing acorns after it is approximately 20 years old. Unlike other types of flowering plants, male and female flowers grow on the same oak tree wherein the female flowers produce eggs while the male flowers produce the pollen.North America has about 90 different types of oak tree species growing across the region and all produce acorns. These include chestnut oak, laurel oak, live oak, overcup oak, white oak, black oak, and bur oak are known to produce acorns. The leaves of white oaks are smooth and produce sweet-tasting acorns, which are eaten by animals such as squirrels. White oak drops acorns from mid-September to late October; sometimes acorns can drop two weeks earlier than usual. Acorns from white oak trees are also called ‘one season oaks’ as they take a one season cycle to drop fruit. Acorns from red oak trees take about two growing seasons to mature and fall from the red oak tree; hence they are also called ‘two-season oaks’. Although red oak requires two seasons to grow, they flower every spring. It does not matter whether they have immature acorns or mature acorns. Black oak trees usually drop acorns from mid-August to mid-September. When you see a lot of acorns on the ground, be prepared to see a lot of deer and mice. But sometimes, a lot of acorn means that the tree is not healthy. It is not possible to predict acorn crops for the current year based on the acorn crops for the last few years.Do lots of acorns mean a bad winter?According to the traditional folklore, which has been passed down from generation to generation, if there is an abundance of acorn on your local oak tree, it is a sign of destructive or severe winter weather approaching. But is it true? Can a few extra acorns now predict the weather?We have known for a long time that all fruit and nut trees, and even some flowering plants, have a season of super harvest. It means every two to three years, the trees or plants bearing these nuts and fruit will produce a huge amount of crops, much more than usual. However, scientists have not been able to find a reason behind this happening. Few theories suggest that trees have evolved over time to produce this enormous amount of acorn crop every few years to ensure that new trees of the species keep growing and the species survive. The weather is also responsible for an increase in the acorn crop. If the weather is warm and the rains are abundant, then the tree was not stressed, and it had enough time to form fruits for the enormous amount of acorns produced. It certainly does not mean that a bad or severe winter is approaching!What to do with fallen acorns?Have an oak tree in your backyard? You are most probably familiar with the hundreds of acorns raking up. The reason why acorns fall is to create new plants and also to provide food to other animals.Well, we might not be able to consume acorns like birds and squirrels, but there are still a lot of things that can be done with them. You might not believe it, but there is actually a market out there for buying and selling acorns. Hunters use acorns as bait to lure animals like deer in the forest, so you will see them burying acorns. People who are creative can use acorns in crafts, especially during the holiday season! Some crafts which can be created from acorns include candles, jewelry, animal shapes, picture frames, and Christmas ornaments. Even if you are not looking to use these yourself, you can definitely sell them and make a little bit more money. If you want to remove acorns in your backyard, you can use lawn sweepers, leaf vacuum, nut gatherer, rake, and tarps. There are a lot of benefits of removing acorns from your backyard. If acorns are left on the ground, they might cause disruption to the growth of grass in your backyard. Acorns might eventually sprout out and produce seedlings that are unwanted. It is painful to walk on acorns and they might cause you injuries.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for when do acorns fall, then why not take a look at where do more mushrooms grow, or where do sunflower seeds come from?
A bumper crop of acorns takes place after every two to five years.
