All about Masting Boom or Bust: Did you know? The fruit of an Oak tree is an acorn and in some years a single Oak tree can produce 10 thousand acorns in a single season. Other trees with hard nuts like Beech, Hickory, Pecan, or Walnut (acorns, nuts, buds, and twigs.) experience high-yield years , a bumper crop botanically referred to as a “Mast” year. The masting occurs about every 2-5 years.

There are two types: soft, which includes foods like berries and fruit; and hard, which includes acorns, nuts, buds, and twigs. Oak, hickory, and walnut are also types of mast trees, and more specifically, they are hard mast trees.


Why these trees vary how many acorns they produce has been somewhat of a mystery, but scientists are continuing to study causes one evolutionary benefit of masting is to ensure future offspring. Masting typically occurs in conjunction with plants of the same species so they mast in the same year within a region. Oaks like the Swamp Oak ,Quercus bicolor is popular for lumber production. The fruit is an acorn, maturing in the fall with the beautiful fall colors in yellow-brown or reddish. Learn More: https://sheffields.com/seeds-for-sale/Quercus/bicolor///////1201/Swamp-White-Oak/Swamp-White-Oak