What is a Good way for black walnut seed germination??

letemgrow · March 05, 2009, 11:53:46 AM

What are some good ways to get walnut seeds to germinate?? I have kept them in the fridge since fall and they froze lightly part of the time in the bottom of the fridge. Is this a viable method or should I try something else??

Dodgy Loner · March 05, 2009, 12:58:07 PM

Best way I have found is to till up a good spot of ground when you collect them in the fall. Amend it will a little lime and some compost (from leaves, sawdust, manure, whatever you've got, just make sure it's good and rotted). If your soil is a heavy clay (like mine was), a little sand will help also. Plant the nuts an inch or two deep, 4-6" apart, and cover with 4" of fresh mulch. I got darn near 100% germination when I did this.

Since you've already had them in the fridge, I would do what I described above as soon as you can. The more time they have to grow this spring and summer, the better off they'll be over the winter. I would leave the nuts in the ground for 2 years to allow them to develop a taproot before trying to transplant them.

routestep · March 05, 2009, 01:42:03 PM

I put mine in damp sand in the bottom of the frig. Took them out in March and planted them where I wanted a Walnut tree. I never tried to transplant them later.
I guess you would need a long tube or dig deep to keep the roots for a xplant.

Dodgy Loner · March 05, 2009, 01:45:02 PM

I've been transplanting my 3-year-old black walnuts this spring. The taproots average maybe 12" deep, which isn't too much digging

letemgrow · March 05, 2009, 01:45:53 PM

Thanks guys!!

I will not be transplanting as I have had very little success with good growth on transplants. I am going to plant the seed in it's final location. I forgot to mention that they are in damp peat in the fridge.

SwampDonkey · March 05, 2009, 05:48:34 PM

I have some in pots and some Prunus nigra I need to look at to see if I can get them sprouted. I also have a bur oak that needs to be planted, kept it refrigerated as I didn't want it to grow too long in the house and get spindly and too tender for full sun. What I always did years ago was to put the "in house" seedling (red oak) in a shaded spot for 2 or 3 years before putting out in full sun. But oak get some mighty roots on small trees.

Lanier_Lurker · May 21, 2009, 09:47:45 PM

Quote from: Dodgy Loner on March 05, 2009, 01:45:02 PM
I've been transplanting my 3-year-old black walnuts this spring. The taproots average maybe 12" deep, which isn't too much digging

I can vouch for Dodgy's walnut seedlings. Those I got from him are vigorous and doing well, even the ones that did not have sound buds on them. Almost all of them have put out new shoots from the well developed 3 year old tap roots.

Now if the butternuts would just get going.

(Dodgy, check your PMs)

Letemgrow, if you plan to go with small year zero sprouts or seed sowing, make sure you have something to protect them from rodents. Grey squirrels and other critters will ruin it for you. I just had another squirrel attack on my hickory sprout nursery for this season. I thought I had them protected but the little buggers managed to get to them anyway. I may have to build a reinforced greenhouse. >:(

SwampDonkey · May 22, 2009, 04:25:01 AM

My walnuts were duds, by bur oak was a dud and my plum seed didn't sprout either. Even the poor squirrel is starving. Mowed off a nice butternut seedling I meant to save. :-\ All my out plantings of butternut on the woodlot seem to have survived to rabbits. The red oak I sprouted last year have life, I planted them in a row with a butternut and maples.

letemgrow · June 02, 2009, 10:20:49 AM

I went with the fridge method in damp peat and over 90% germinated, but the potting mix must have held too much moisture because most roots rotted, but a few pushed through and made it to seedlings. I am going to stick with planting them in their permanent location from now on to start with, caged so the squirrels cannot dig them up.

beatkat · June 07, 2009, 11:46:34 PM

I picked up a black walnut seed today that a squirrel buried last fall and it is sprouting. I assume the sprout is a stem, not a root, so I should plant it sprout up, i.e. narrow end up, right???

Lanier_Lurker · June 08, 2009, 07:37:26 AM

Nope, that would be the tap root coming out first.

It may not matter much how you position it when planting. It will figure out which way to go.

Just make sure you protect it somehow when you plant it, or another squirrel will find it.

Mr Mom · June 09, 2009, 11:32:52 AM

My dad has them sprouting all over under his black walnut trees and they just drop off the sit on top of the ground.
He said that planted some and none lived but threw a bunch of nuts in the weeds and they grew.

Thanks Alot Mr Mom

SwampDonkey · June 09, 2009, 05:05:18 PM

That's how butternut grow here to, although I have planted many out in the woods and most grew there to.

Any of you butternut planters have any germinate yet? Mine don't come up 'til July, so be patient. ;D

Lanier_Lurker · June 09, 2009, 10:18:00 PM

The butternuts that I got from Dodgy (from the tree in Hiawassee, Ga.) have been a 100% failure on germination.

I have read that they can exhibit double dormancy. I will keep them and try again next spring - assuming they don't decide to pop later this year.

JasonV · June 15, 2009, 11:28:22 PM

Last year found more walnuts on the trees where than any other time in 50 years (according to my father-in-law). Since I was pretty lax in raking the mounds of nuts, we now have about a 3 square yard patch of small trees (maybe 30 or so) that came up last fall and now are up again this spring. We would like to plant them, but don't know how big we should let them get.

Lanier_Lurker · June 15, 2009, 11:37:06 PM

The size may not matter as much as the timing. Wait until they are completely dormant - like late January or February. Getting them out of the ground with minimal damage to roots is the main thing.

Assuming they are safe where they are until then, leave them.

ejchron · June 21, 2009, 08:31:21 PM

Hello, first post here. This is a great forum. Thank you to the folks who make it happen.

I used the method described in Hans Morsbach's book (Common Sense Forestry). I simply disked up a plot (about a quarter acre just to test the method), spread out the walnuts, and disked them under. The walnuts had been lying on the ground all winter under my dad's tree. We plowed them under in January.

I can't speak to the germination percentage but there are hundreds (if not thousands) in this space now. I haven't learned how to post a picture yet but I'm working on it. For now, I placed a picture in my gallery.

I scouted out a few more sites where I plan to expand this experiment next winter. I may never see the trees mature (I'm 43 now) but maybe my kids will appreciate it.

Evan

letemgrow · June 22, 2009, 07:55:27 AM

Quote from: ejchron on June 21, 2009, 08:31:21 PM
I scouted out a few more sites where I plan to expand this experiment next winter. I may never see the trees mature (I'm 43 now) but maybe my kids will appreciate it.

Evan

Exactly!!

That is why I am replacing some walnuts that I logged out on my farm....so my kids will be able to harvest the trees one day. I may even be able to if I make it long enough myself.

Banjo picker · June 22, 2009, 09:18:49 AM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on June 09, 2009, 05:05:18 PM
That's how butternut grow here to, although I have planted many out in the woods and most grew there to.

Any of you butternut planters have any germinate yet? Mine don't come up 'til July, so be patient. ;D

I know I have already told you about mine on another post I started, but some of these folk might not have seen it....I got butternuts up...using a cage for planting to protect....Got about 7 out of 19 so far...Tim