planting black walnut trees

[Wisconsintimber]

I picked up 30-40 black walnut trees that were started this spring.  They were planted in normal pots and the taproot has started to curl in the bottom of the pot.  I know the taproot is supposed to go straight down, so will this be a problem? Can I straighten them out or will they straighten out when they grow?  Just wondering if anyone has any experience with that.  Thanks!

[Larry]

When I was planting a lot of trees, the forester said any that got planted with a "J" root would die.  Since you only have 40 or less take the time to straighten the root.

I found when planting walnuts they would survive, but not grow on poor sites.  On good sites they prospered.  For me in north Missouri, the poor sites were any slopes that had a west or southern exposure.  Good sites were north and eastern slopes.

[Brad_bb]

A few years ago I would wait til the seedlings emerged in my yard in June and dig them as quickly as possible before the tap rot got longer than my one shovel scoop.  I would transplant them to my back pasture and I got about and 80-90 percent success rate.  If you waited too long and cut part of that tap root, it would likely die.  But sometimes it wouldn't.  I also just took some walnuts in the fall and pretended I was a squirrel and planted them where I wanted them - usually 2-3 nuts per hole and that was successful.  If more than one emerged I'd just nip the others off. Had about 60-70 percent germination rate.  
I have a bunch of healthy black walnut trees now with many 16-20 ft tall and 3" dbh.  I've pruned them each spring to make the longest clear trunk I could, Usually 12ft-16ft to the first branches that I've left go.  Been interesting experimenting with grow tubes, pruning, and staking.

[Texas Ranger]

Of course not walnut, but, when I was planting for clients we were receiving some of the poorest seedlings every produced.  The state nursery had been used so long that it had a hard pan, and virtually all the seedlings were J rooted.  We trimmed the roots and planted away, never less than 95 or so survival.  The state closed the nursery and went to commercial seedlings, with better rooting and better survival.  Of course, Texas, and sandy soils, usually.

[Ianab]

have a bunch of healthy black walnut trees now with many 16-20 ft tall and 3" dbh.  I've pruned them each spring to make the longest clear trunk I could, Usually 12ft-16ft to the first branches that I've left go.  Been interesting experimenting with grow tubes, pruning, and staking.

A bit of intensive care like that can pay off long term, even if it's for your grandkids. That 3" dia limbless log you have now should now keep putting on dia in nice clear wood. Give it 50 years and it should be a 3ft dia veneer grade log. What happens further up the tree is more of a lottery, but the main value is that butt log. 

You might not live to see it sawn, but that's the issue with trees, many of them live longer than use, and most people don't think that long term. 

That's the issue with our local native trees. Think 200+ year rotations. Great lumber, but who's got time that that long?

But if you are managing for LONG term (multi-generation), that's how you have to think.

[fishfighter]

On my place, the last almost 200 years the land has been past down. In all that time, the land has always been select cut about once every 40 years. Always a good growth of trees. Trees always has to be no less then 28"dbh.

[RAYGYVER]

I planted Black Walnut on my property 2 years ago almost. Very few have survived, and those are doing just that...surviving. I also planted a Black Locust....those took off!!! I have about 6 of those that were 18" tall when planted. They are over 12' tall in two years! Unreal! I have other Honey locust native to the site that also are doing well. I guess the soil here is setup for locust to do very well. I've got lobollys doing well too. Some of those are about 6' in two years. And a few Poplars that have reach nearly 7' in two years. I got all my trees from the DNR.