Bad year for seeds?

Discussion in 'Maples' started by Kaitain4, Nov 28, 2010.

  1. Kaitain4

    Kaitain4 Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    I made the rounds to see if I could find any samaras to harvest, and this year there were literally NONE to be found! Has anyone else experienced this? We had a brutal summer, and I'm wondering if the trees gave up their crop in favor of survival. I know we started out the year with plenty of blooms and had no late frosts...
     
  2. sasquatch

    sasquatch Active Member

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    Hungry squirrels?? How was the acorn crop on Oaks in your area? In years of poor acorn production, squirrels and other wildlife can get desperate for food sources.

    I had plenty of seeds on my trees this year. I noticed that my Red Pygmy was drooping under the weight of seed clusters in September.
     
  3. Kaitain4

    Kaitain4 Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Well, that's the curious thing. We had an absolute bumper crop of acorns - millions of them! Its ridiculous. Hickory, pecan, walnut, ash, tulip poplar and dogwood - all huge bumper crops. JMs - nothing...
     
  4. emery

    emery Renowned Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    It was a poor year for seeds here too, but the cause was obvious: late freeze followed by drought. Some seeds formed but fell off early. Exceptions were davidii, beurgerianum and oddly 'Villa Taranto' had enough to plant a tray's worth.

    -E
     
  5. Gomero

    Gomero Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Bumper crop in my garden this year.
    Also (Arrrgghhh!!!) an extremely huge crop of acorns ==> zillions of baby oaks to pull out by hand next spring. I will have to 'hire' a cohort of children from the neighborhood to help me out ;-))

    Gomero
     
  6. kaydye

    kaydye Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    I was really disappointed in seed production this year, too. Actually, I haven't had any for about three years. We have had three wet years and I heard somewhere that you get more seeds in time of stress since it's a survival technique. Having said that, however, we also had zillions of acorns and hickory nuts. So who knows. Plus, when you read the variations in other parts of the world there doesn't seem to be a common thread.
    Kay
     
  7. Gomero

    Gomero Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    With the leaves in the trees mostly gone, the seeds stand out more clearly. Th first one is a tataricum ssp ginnala, the second a palmatum seedling and the third a buergerianum.

    Gomero
     

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  8. Kaitain4

    Kaitain4 Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    WOW! Gomero I'm envious!!
     
  9. cafernan

    cafernan Active Member

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    If you zoom in the pictures, you could see that samaras have a label that says "to Argentina"...
     

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