Our oak tree is now ~16" diameter, 70 ft tall, and has a drip line of ~
40ft. It is also producing an enornmous amount of acorns. Any ideas on how to control / dispose of them short of cutting down the tree? TIA
Turkeys and squirrels usually clean up acorns. 'Course they bring other issues with them. Maybe a lawn mower with bagging attachment will clean them up. I've got a Pin oak much larger than yours and acorns aren't a problem.
You can't do much about the acorn production. Since it's a tree-shaded area, if you don't need the area for sports or some other intensive use, why not redo the area under the tree with a different ground cover than sod -- perhaps something like ivy or ferns-- and the acorns will be hidden under the ground cover -- plus you'll almost never have to mow or give it any other care. Another option would be to turn the entire area under the tree into a mulched garden, perhaps filled with azaleas and/or camellias, depending upon your location. Regards --
Oaks have a tendency to drop inordinate amounts of acorns when they're stressed, as a way to ensure their "survival". If the tree is capable of reaching a house or other valuable structure/item, should it fall, I would ask an arborist to check it to make sure it has no underlying problems that can/can't be corrected. Sometimes by the time visible symptoms begin to show, it's too late to save the tree.
It could also be nothing at all. 'Oak tree' is quite generic (specific species is helpful, but with oaks can be tricky), and '70 ft' is quite common, among oaks. There's room for a heckuva lot of acorns on a 70' tree. If it's dropping considerably more than it has in the past few years, an your weather has been fairly constant, I'd have it looked at. Just my $.02
I like this thought best. If you need to pull stuff up to remake the area, be careful not to muck up the roots. Find out about them first from someone who knows. Tomes
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