A Storm of Acorns

Arboretum staff enjoyed a meeting under the trees this week, narrowly avoiding death by falling acorns. Some of the Arboretum's oaks are enjoying a bumper crop of acorns this year, in stark contrast to last year's nearly non-existent yield.

While acorn production does alternate annually, late spring frost, insect damage, lack of nutrients, and drought conditions can also affect acorn production. Oaks generally begin producing acorns by twenty years of age, but some trees don't produce acorns until fifty years. Just as the canopy of a tree grows over time, so does its production of acorns. By one hundred years of age, acorn production averages out at around 2,200 acorns per tree.

Acorns provide vital nutrients for a variety of birds and mammals, including jays, pigeons, ducks, squirrels, mice, and deer. A correlation between high acorn yields and a rise in Lyme disease has been traced to the acorn-fueled population boom of white-footed mice (pictured), the key host for ticks that carry the disease.

To experience the Arboretum's bumper crop of acorns, acorn enthusiasts have but to exit the Visitor's Center back doors and cross over to the picnic table, which is surrounded by a blanket of the nuts. For those inclined to linger, hard hats are advised.

by Jenny Houghton

Youth Program Coordinator

       

Wonder and wonderment

Taking a walk on a nearly rainy day

Feeling the breeze in the meadow and the humidity in the woods

Sharing knowledge and insights

Learning every step of the way

So much diversity, such an interesting collection of plants

But so much more than plants

One could walk and talk and dream the day away

And wonder

Wonder at how this world is put together

Seeing a spider's egg open and spill out hundreds of baby spiders

Did the mother send a message to the babies to scatter in an effort to try and save them from us?

Or was it pure coincidence that we were there at the exact right moment to see such an amazing sight?

We may never know.

Such is the wonder and wonderment found at Adkins Arboretum this week.

by Diana Beall

Assistant Receptionist

Photo by Bookkeeper Michelle Smith

Complexity

In the current issue of the Annapolis Horticulture Society's (annapolishorticulture.org) newsletter, guru horticulturist and gardening columnist Dr. Francis Gouin's epistle on soils, the second part in a series, continues. He reports this irony regarding the consequence of cleaner air causing a greater need for (chemical?) soil amendments.

The conundrum:

Sulfur has become deficient in some soils and that can be diagnosed from the S3 test. Because sulfur is no longer a contaminant in fertilizers, our air is becoming cleaner and sulfur deficiency symptoms are becoming more common. In the good old days, sulfur dioxide was a major air pollutant which helped in maintaining adequate levels of sulfur in our soils. Our fertilizers have become more concentrated and less contaminated with sulfate compounds such as super-phosphate, ammonium sulfate and potassium sulfate. These sources have been replaced with ammonium phosphate, potassium nitrate, and others. With increased emphasis on cleaner air, we have less sulfur-polluted rains and atmospheric sulfur-laden dust falling on our land. It will eventually become necessary to blend sulfur in the fertilizer bag or we will have to apply it separately (from UNDERSTANDING SOIL TEST REPORTS - PART II, by Francis R. Gouin, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, AHS Newsletter, September 2012, #138).

I must admit it reminds me of the political debates ongoing in the Presidential contest where parties try to distinguish themselves by not agreeing on anything and seeing all candidates and their supporters as wearing either black or white hats. Is carbon dioxide a pollutant or a life-supporting chemical? Your answer may be determined by your political persuasion.

In the plant world, there is care not to be politically incorrect and refer to a native plant that is a garden thug as "invasive." To be respectful, one refers to it as "opportunistic."

Ultimately, in our maturity we must accept that life is wondrously complex and often ironic. It gives  me a Cheshire Cat grin to watch the angst among those who see no option but to choose sides and cut off their noses to spite their faces.

by Ellie Altman

Executive Director