The real homeland of the walnut is southern Europe and Asia. However, it came to Poland from the Balkans and quickly became one of the species that have become a permanent part of our native landscape. From early spring, the tree is covered with large, light green and decorative leaves, under which you can relax in the summer, while in autumn the entire crown is dressed in majestic golden-yellow colors.
Place in the gardenUnfortunately, not every garden can plant a nut, because it is one of the most rapidly growing fruit trees. Its structure is made of a trunk and gently wavy bent branches, from which smaller branches extend.Extensive crown, strongly growing to the sides, reaches a considerable size after a dozen or so years, therefore the walnut is suitable only for large gardens. Remember that even in our country it is a long-lived tree, as there are known specimens that live up to two hundred years or even more.
RequirementsWalnut is one of the easier fruit species for amateur cultivation. Despite the fact that it is a tree susceptible to severe frosts, it rarely freezes. It also has special regenerative abilities. Even if some branches become frozen, the tree can regenerate damage in the coming season. Interestingly, even seemingly dead branches often grow back. The walnut also does not have high soil requirements and can grow in virtually any position. However, it likes places in full sun. Nevertheless, it is not susceptible to drought due to the extensive and deep-reaching root system.
Tree care after plantingIf.webp you bought a tree with bare roots, you need to water it well after planting.We should also remember to shorten both the guide and the side branches in the spring. Always trim a tree if there is only one unbranched shoot. In order for it to spread, we cut the very tip of the guide. This will stimulate the lower eyelets to grow, as a result of which the first twigs will grow, which will be the beginning of the later branches. If we buy a tree in a container, there is no need to shorten its shoots after planting. It also does not require good quality pruning and nicely branched nursery material. In later years, the walnut also does not require heavy pruning and crown formation. As a rule, it branches nicely, and the first radical cut should be made only after several years. Then we cut out the branches that begin to fall downwards excessively. Every year, however, we cut out the withered branches. Annual raking and removal of leaves is also essential. Usually there are a lot of them and sometimes it is necessary to rake them several times. We should not leave the leaves under the tree as they may contain harmful substances that inhibit the growth of the turf.Nuts are not attacked too often by diseases or pests. He is sometimes struck by anthracnose, but he usually knows how to deal with it.
From seed or from grafting?Walnut is easily propagated from seed. We select the most fertile nuts that have fallen from the tree and place them in the soil. Some of them will germinate and the seedlings can be replanted the next year. A young sapling obtained by sowing seeds usually produces a tap root, which must be trimmed before planting in the right place to make it branch. In the past, a piece of plate or flat stone was used to force the tap root to branch out, but nowadays the end of the root is simply trimmed. However, this is not a recommended method of reproducing these plants.
Trees obtained from sowing seeds usually start bearing fruit late. The first fruits are often obtained several years after planting. Moreover, it may turn out that after many years of waiting, the obtained fruit will not be equal in size or fertility to the nuts of the tree from which they come.A much better idea will be to buy a grafted nut, which is quite expensive, because grafting this species requires a lot of knowledge and experience. However, it is worth paying more and buying some breeding varieties. We will have a guarantee that the grafted nuts will faithfully reproduce the mother characteristics, including the size of the fruit. Another advantage of grafted varieties is that trees bear fruit much earlier. Instead of waiting ten years for fruiting, 3-4 years after planting we will be able to enjoy the first nuts.
Best varieties
Well-known and appreciated varieties of walnut have been commercially available for several years. Varieties such as 'Albi', 'Dodo', 'Resovia' and 'Targo' are distinguished by low or medium growth force, so they can also be planted in slightly smaller gardens. All these varieties are also characterized by high fertility and, importantly, the ease of shelling nuts from the hard shell. They are also not very susceptible to disease.
