Why have thousands of tiny, immature acorns fallen from my oak ? What will the squirrels attack now ?
Answer
Susan, sometimes the tree has more nuts or whatever pollinated than it can support. It seems to sense how much it can support. Nuts in particular, as well as some fruits, are alternate bearers, in other words, support more some years than others. In the case of peaches for instance there is June fruit drop, for the above reason. Very frustrating! There also could be environmental conditions. Weather has been very erratic this year. Too much or too little rain. Also sometimes the tree senses it is in decline and tries to reproduce as a "last gasp" but can't bring the seeds to maturity. Also there could be something attacking the tree in the way of an insect that has laid eggs on the acorns and bored in, creating the acorn drop. You might want to cut several open to check this out. These are some ideas. You don't mention the general look of the health of the tree, so I am assuming that other than the nut drop it seems healthy. Best of luck. Elise