Oaks, Acorns and You

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If you're blessed with forested land or a woodlot, you can help maximize acorn yields. Thinning the forest every few years, creating openings in the canopy, is essential. Crowded stands of tall trees block the sun and squelch mast production. Nut trees with crowns fully exposed to light are healthier and produce better than those with shaded foliage. Thin medium-height trees, too, so light can strike the ground and encourage growth of lower foliage important to ground-dwelling creatures for cover and nesting.

When thinning, remember that large-diameter specimens produce more nuts than those of small diameter. Leave the big ones, in other words, and those that promise to be. Also, retain a combination of both white-oak and red-oak species—the two groups into which all oaks are divided. They're easy to tell apart: Most white oaks have leaves with rounded lobes, or "fingers." Red-oak leaves have pointed lobes.

More importantly, red-oak acorns—which take two years to mature and are exceptionally high in fat—don't sprout until the following spring, even when buried. As a result, they're storable. Birds and animals rely primarily on red-oak acorns for their winter stash. White-oak acorns, on the other hand, mature in a single year, are sweeter than the reds, and sprout soon after falling, thus losing their nutty nature—and their nutrients. Wildlife generally eat them as soon as they find them in the fall. The white-oak acorns are critical for building energy reserves before cold weather strikes.

Remember to keep a mix of other types of hard-mast-producing trees—beech, walnut, hickory—if you have them. Likewise, maintain lower-growing vegetation that produces soft mast—dogwood, cherry, wild grape or berries.

Of course, the same principles apply, though on a smaller scale, to back yards and suburban lots. Keep any oaks and other nut trees thinned and healthy, and use a range of shrub species and other landscape plants that bear food. Think mixed nuts; think mixed everything, and wildlife will be the better for it. In nature, after all, variety is not only the spice of life, but also the force that drives it.

If you're looking for a mail-order source of inexpensive oak tree seedlings, check out OIKOS Tree Crops. Established in 1985, OIKOS offers more than 75 species and hybrid oaks, including selections that produce heavy crops of acorns suitable for wildlife or for making flour, as well as other interesting plants. Contact OIKOS at (269) 624-6233 or www.oikostreecrops.com.

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