Exactly 10 years ago, this tree was an acorn itself growing on the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest. Now in Sep 2010, the tree has produced a very heavy crop of acorns. About 2.5m (8 ft) high, there are around 900-1,000 acorns growing on it, grandchildren of the famous tree. This tree had 'a few' acorns in 2008, 'lots' in 2009, and survived a heavy ground frost on 11/12 May 2010 that killed most of its fresh new leaves (which emerged before 28 Apr) and catkins. See some facts about acorn production. In 2010, about 3,000 acorns were picked from 258 10-year old trees in the plantation, and scattered to start a 300 metre hedge along the South deer fence.

AC2502. Parent tree, looking North (14 Sep).

AC2493. Cluster A (13 Sep).

AC2566 Progress in ripening. Green acorns cling firmly to their cup. Brown fall out by themselves. When picking, experience tells what to expect and which to leave to ripen further. The top row shows an oak marble gall, a Knopper gall, and two Artichoke galls, see Galls. Clusters of up to 5 acorns on long stalks (leaves are on short stems), acorns about 25mm long, scaly cups about 18 mm across. Quercus robur should be planted as soon as they mature.

Acorns

A check for acorns on the young trees. 1=a couple, 2=several, 3=a lot. Sep 08 Sep 09 Sep 10 A8=(1) C3=(2) G7=(2) L6=(3) S5=(2) C3 C6 H6 H7 I1 I3 K7 L1 L6 NF NO G7=(1) D2=(2) I1=(1) R3=(1) T3=(1) Q1 S5 Z2 (all "lots") L1=(1) E1=(1) I3=(1) R5=(2) W5=(2) 93 (all "a few") P4=(3) F8=(1) L1=(3) S2=(1) 107 trees with acorns, 42%

Crop for 2010

Acorns picked 2-11 Oct 2010 900 L1 1170 (13x90) C3 C6 H6 H7 I1 I3 K7 L6 NF NO Q1 S5 Z2 930 (93x10) (see "a few" on map) 0 (151x0) (trees with no acorns at all) ---- 3000 approximately Collecting and sowing acorns. 1. About 1 Sept, walk all oaks and list those having LOTS and a FEW acorns. 2. About 1 Oct, start collecting acorns from trees. Those with a little brown or even yellow should come off the cup with a slight twist. Those all brown probably have insects inside. 3. Collect acorns in a small stout bag around neck. 4. Weigh acorns with a spring scale. 5. Sow acorns the same day in selected place, probably along the South deer fence. Freshly picked acorns penetrate grass if thrown smartly. Keep a count of number sown

Acorn census

[few acorns], [[lots of acorns]], 30 Aug 2010. Upper case=OAK, w=willow, ash=ash, co=conker, sp=spindle, bi=birch, asp=aspen, Pm=poplar male, Pf=poplar female. *=deer-chewed, x potted spares in leaf, xxx=new hedge, ^=leaf soon, ?=un-moved w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w GATE ----------------| ash | ash ash A1 A2 | A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 ash ash | Pf ash B1 B2 | B3 B4 [B5] B6 B7 B8 ash NB | ash [C1] [C2] | [[C3]] C4 [C5] [[C6]] C7 C8 ash NC | ash [D1] D2 | D3 D4 [D5] [D6] [D7] D8 ash [ND] | ash [E1] E2 | E3 E4 E5 [E6] E7 [E8] [NE] | Pm F1 [F2] | F3 [F4] F5 F6 [F7] [F8] [[NF]] | [G1] G2 | [G3] G4 [G5] G6 [G7] G8 Pf [NG] | [H1] H2 | H3 [H4] H5 [[H6]] [[H7]] H8 NH | Pm [[I1]] [I2] | [[I3]] I4 [I5] [I6] [I7] I8 NI | Pf J1 [J2] | [J3] J4 [J5] [J6] J7 J8 [NJ] | Pm [K1] [K2] | K3 [K4] K5 [K6] [[K7]] K8 NK | Pf [[L1]] L2 | [L3] [L4] [L5] [[L6]] L7 L8 NL | Pm M1 [M2] | M3 [M4] [M5] [M6] [M7] M8 NM | sp Pm N1 [N2] | [N3] bi w. N5 N6 [N7] N8 se NN | sp w POND w sp at [O1] [O2] | . WELL bi O5 [O6] [O7] O8 Pm [[NO*]] | P1 [P2] | SCRAPE [P4] [P5] [P6] [P7] [P8] Pf NP | |---------| [[Q1*]] [Q2] | Q3 | [Q4] | [Q5] Q6 Q7 Q8 NQ | | NURSERY | Pm R1 [R2] | [R3] | [R4] | [R5] R6 R7 R8 NR | | | Pf S1 [S2] | S3 | S4 | [[S5]] S6 S7 [S8] NS | |---------| Pm [T1*] T2 | [T3] [T4] [T5] T6 [T7] T8 NT |---------| Pf [U1*] [U2] U3 | U4 U5 [U6] [U7] U8 NU | V1* V2 V3 | V4 V5 [V6] [V7] V8 Pm NV | W1 [W2] [W3] | W4 W5 W6 W7 [W8] NW | Pf [X1] X2 X3 | X4 [X5] X6 X7 X8 NX | Pm Y1 Y2 Y3 | Y4 [Y5] [Y6] Y7 Y8 NY | Pf [Z1*] [[Z2]] Z3 | Z4 Z5 Z6 Z7 Z8 NZ | Pm Za1* [Za2] Za3 | [Za4] Za5 Za6 [Za7] Za8 [NZa] | x [Zb1*] Zb2 Zb3 | Zb4 Zb5 Zb6 Zb7 Zb8 x x NZb | x x ash* [Zc1] [Zc2] [Zc3] | Zc4 Zc5 Zc6 Zc7 Zc8 x x | x x ash ash* WA co co | co co asp WF x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxGATExxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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