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Oak Tree "Tendrils" Are Male Flowers—Great for Compost

The dangling "tendrils" dropping from oaks are male flowers (catkins) that release pollen. This was a heavy flowering year due to last summer's good growing conditions. Everything that falls from trees—catkins, leaves, acorns—is fine to compost.

About Gardening: Tarmac Around Oak Trees Causes Root Suffocation and Bark Loss; Storing Acorns for Planting: Keep Them Cool and Dry; Oak Tree Fungus Management: Drainage and Cultural Controls; Oaks Falling with Internal Decay: Hazard Tree Assessment Needed; Oak Thinning for Acorn Production: Wildlife Management Guide; Oak Catkins: Male Flowers Making Acorns; "Flowering Oak" Is Likely a Tuliptree; All About Oak Trees: Types, History, Uses, and Care; Oak Bark Shedding: Growth, Fungus, or Squirrels?; Why Water Oaks Drop Branches and Leaves in Early Summer

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