I would just guess that the tree needs to conserve energy, or the stuff others here have said. My Chestnut oak used to have TONS of acorns every year, BUT, the last couple of years it has been either like last year, NO acorns at all, and this summer I can see a few here and there, and they just may abort before they become a decent size. And, I have NO idea why, I just can guess that the tree needs a break. I had seen NO catkins on it at all this spring, so, I am shocked it even has a few here and there this year so far. The deer have gotten used to the feast of acorns each summer. They still have the apples to eat though. It shouldn't be a big problem. I hope not anyway. I have a Live oak that has had a couple of tiny buttons on it and it NEVER keeps them, or they never get any bigger, so, no biggie, that LO is NOT very old anyway.

Alabama and Sherry - thanks for the advice. It's like old times talking with you. I've missed you! Alabama - I'll plant them out - these acorns are huge, bigger than tennis balls. I've never seen acorns this big. We don't have many squirrels (yet). We do have rabbits, possums, raccoons, muskrats, foxes, coyotes, and deer. Brandon: you recommend using chicken wire or hardware cloth to "fashion protection.: Can you describe how you would do this? Lay the stuff on the ground and use metal staples to keep it from blowing away? Make a quasi-box out of chicken wire and staple it to the ground? None of the above? Sherry - cold?? It's awful. Last week, we had temps below 20 in the morning - it's just starting to warm up a bit. 15-20 years ago, we used to get a light frost after Thanksgiving, then the first frost occurred in first week of Dec. The last few years have been so mild, we didn't have a freeze until January. On Friday, it SNOWED in Va Beach, Norfolk and parts of the Eastern Shore. We had a few flurries, no accumulation. I ordered another 200 hardwood and flowering tree seedlings, they are due around Dec 31. Also more LLPs. I'm looking for a good source of redbud, pawpaw, yaupon holly and few other type of seedings. I must be crazy to be doing this now but I think the seedlings will settle in better if I plant them in dead of winter. Take care and try to stay warm. Don't be strangers! Pam

Spruce, I've planted them directly in the ground and in containers. When I planted them in containers, I just left the containers outside all winter long, but then we don't get that many freezes here, and when we do, they're usually mild, barely below freezing and the cold spells they come with aren't long lasting. We had snow recently for the first time in years, but the temperature never got below freezing (how did that happen?) and it's since warmed into the 60's and low 70's. So my experience won't help you with your Virginia climate. If I were you, I'd experiment and plant them several different ways to see which works best. Since you're so close to their natural range, and since they're oaks, I have an idea that they'll survive your winters. Sherry

In Gainesville, Florida, the best acorns to eat are probably from the live oak (Quercus virginiana). They are not the largest by far, but some of them are quite delicious. I know of one tree in particular that we eat roasted with no leaching. We dump a few handfulls of acorns into a thing of water and scoop off the floaters. The floaters are often parasitized or bad for some other reason. The sinkers, we tossed into a wok and roasted them over a fire, stirring, until they started to steam. Some of the kernels were very hard, but they were delicious. I've tried some from other trees that were not very good. The swamp chestnut oak has the largest fruit by far, and area supposedly edible raw. Other white oak types you can find around here are white oak (Quercus alba), and b_a_s_t_a_r_d white oak (Quercus austrina). Chapman oak (Q. chapmanii) grows in scrublands, sand live oak (Q. geminata) grows in scrubs, sandhills, scrubby flatwoods, beaches, and other dry areas. Overcup oak Q. lyrata, which grows prinicpally along the Suwanee River around here. Myrtle oak, Q. myrtifolia is another shrubby scrub oak. A friend of mine is growing burr oak for food, but they're still small. The live oak will grow in Atlanta, so that's my recommendation. They are fast growers and have some of the strongest wood of any tree. Their growth form in the open is often wide and spreading, with massive horizontal branches that can dip down to the ground and grow back up, on very old trees. Most of the nursery-grown ones I've seen around here have mostly upward pointing branches, which makes the joints weak, so the tree is susceptible to splitting. The really good one here only produces once every few years, so that's a drawback. I wish someone would have put some work into developing some good varieties for food. I tried cooking some swamp chestnut oak acorns the same way as the live oak, but they were too bitter to eat. I only tried one tree though, and no pre-soaking. Those are pretty slow, but they grow into a magnificent tall tree. In the open, their crowns will be more rounded. The American Chestnut Federation has a 15/16 American Chinese hybrid that has no Chinese characteristics except for blight resistance. That might be a neat one to grow, if they can do that as far south as you are. I have no idea how long they take to fruit. Good luck, and please let me know how your project is working out.