Acorns
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I heard that Quercus Robur (English Oak) acorns haven't done so well this year but we have Quercus Cerris (Turkey Oak) near us, those huge oaks with long straight trunks and they have loads of acorns, so never fear!! What really puzzles me is the single English Oak near our home, I think it's a WW1 oak, is riddled with oak gall so has never produced a decent acorn in all the time we've been here. I listened to a GQT programme about oak gall where they said this would eventually right itself and keep hoping for the best, maybe in another 100 years?!
I see in Wales you have a Welsh Oak, Fisherman, there are so many different ones! Do the broadcasters of bad news know their Oaks?
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We plant Hazel trees. Our next door neighbour originally planted two, then our resident squirrels took over, and the whole street now has a few in each garden. Ours are maturing nicely, planted at the bottom of our garden, we have taken off the low branches, to keep the ground clear underneath, and will then have a sort of high hedge to keep the garden more private. I shall use the withies to make plant supports.
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We have many English and Cecile Oaks in our area and there seem to be a lot of acorns ,although not as many as last years bumper crop ,we have saplings of both from last year which will be planted in areas ,that hopefully will not get nibbled by our deer populations
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A useful oak is the Holm Oak (Quercus Ilex), It’s one of a few specimen evergreens that seem to thrive locally in salty, windy exposed locations on the coast. As the SW gales seem to get more intense each year it’s a great tree for shelter.
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We have at least three different oaks here and after looking early in the year did not think we get any acorns but now have plenty and I have potted some up and see what happens.
We had the oak processionary moth and caterpillar about 4 miles from here and so far not got here but the trees do try and put more leaves after the first lot have been eaten but I see no acorns on these trees which is a shame, also we have got oak die back disease even on two of our trees and after a walk today have noticed other oaks with it and no cure if it not one disease then it is another. Have seen holm oaks in some places and they do sell it as a truffle oak plus the usual ones could be big problems in the future as the local truffles can fetch very high prices upto a 1000 euros a kilo in a good year.
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Definitely a good year, as we have seen lots in our travels so far, from Cheshire to Gloucestershire and now too in Dorset.
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Looks good here for acorns although not as big as some years and the Jays are going mad around all the trees. The acorns I planted last year have not done anything put it down to the extreme weather but no bare oak trees about this year so a no evidence of Oak processionary moths/caterpillars possibly the weather helped as it was said that this year was going to be a bad year for them. Do have some young oak trees growing so will transplant when a decent size as they are in the wrong place amongst the flower beds but good to see.
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I sit my acorns then seedlings in a big water tray as it’s easy to keep them moist👍🏻
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Just read a very interesting article about the loss of insects, particularly butterflies and moths across the UK. It would seem that the loss of diversity rich habitats are the problem. The article suggests we plant holly, flowering ivy, elms and nettles and wildflowers in our gardens and rewild more areas to create habitats that allow butterflies and other endangered insects space to feed, breed and shelter. With out our help, they suggest numbers of butterflies will continue to fall. Maybe we need to look a little wider at the bigger picture.
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+1, it was vaunted many years ago rewilding an area in you garden however small. It works too👍🏻. Anyone who loves Bumble Bees flowering ivy is a must👍🏻. Echinacea are super long flowerers & the Bees just can’t leave them alone 🐝.
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Was involved in a project some years back where whips of a variety of trees/bushes were planted/reintroduced into the ‘wild’. These came from a nursery where native seeds were collected and grown on. Love going back to look at them ‘today’! Now involved in wild flower projects around our area. Am going to encourage our group/council to focus more on bee and insect important plants now.
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We hopefully leave the planet with a better chance than it had before.
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I fish in an upland area here in Wales, part of an Organic farm with only Cattle and Sheep grazing. There are no conifers within 400 yds of the lake and its fed from the surrounding bog land. We have seen however illegal introduction of Deer and now Wild boar over the last decade or so. These are the only discernable changes. It was noticable that the insect life was much less this year with fewer Sedges, Damsel Flies and Daddies. The weather pattern was adverse however. Now my guess is that nature sorts itself out and next year with different weather the fly life will be back. This is not uncommon as is the volume of acorns on different years. No panic yet at this end.
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Many of the non native species were introduced onto estates for ornamental or hunting reasons. As for wild boar they are native but should only be introduced i areas where numbers are controllable in my opinion as they do have many benefits to enriching habitats as do those ancient cattle species.
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For those interested in this thread here is an organisation worth looking at!
https://treesforlife.org.uk/10-exciting-rewilding-projects-happening-in-the-uk/
They are doing some sterling work across the UK and Ireland.
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Strangely enough, we have just been this very afternoon to the botanical gardens in Cordoba. Fabulous conservation projects here including a very modern seed bank and long term repository. I was surprised to find out how many oak species/varieties there are across Europe. I didn’t know there was an evergreen variety. The suggestion is the ranges for the individual species is moving quite rapidly as global warming happens. 🌱🌱
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Sorry, that should read botanic gardens! I’ve not been on the gin!🤣
https://www.jardinbotanicodecordoba.com/
Everyday is a school day as they say!
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Our 25 year old oak tree has masses of acorns although most of them have fallen off now. They started dropping much earlier this year, probably due to the drought.
Our rowan has more berries on it than I've seen in the last few years. Last year there was hardly any at all. The weight of the berries is so great all the branches are bending down alarmingly, I hope they don't break. Hopefully we will get the redwings and fieldfares back again this winter although with such a mass of berries everywhere they can be choosy where they feed.
I saw yesterday that following the national butterfly survey earlier in the year, the numbers recorded are alarmingly down. It confirms what I commented on a couple of months ago that although there seemed to be plenty of white butterflies around, coloured ones were very scarce. Hardly a one on the buddleia or the verbena all summer.
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Our Rowan berries have long gone, the blackbirds feast on them very early on. The oak tree which grows over a corner of our garden never sheds normal acorns as it has oak gall and so every acorn is just a mis-shapen ball, unrecognisable as an acorn. The whole tree is affected, been like it for years. I've heard they sometimes clear up, so live in hope!
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https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/10/what-is-a-mast-year/
it's called a mast year , happens about every 7 years . We came across it with sycamore trees a few years back
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