Is this Walnut about to Die?

[Billhook]

Thanks for all that information.

 

The cows never seem to be near the trunk as the branches come down low to act as a fence. There are only ever three or four animals in that field as it is quite small.

 

We have a two acre walnut plantation on the farm which was on the 1832 map

There are half a dozen very old looking trees looking slightly knackered but no bigger than the one in the photo. They could be originals I suppose.

 

I know that the one in the picture was planted by my Gt Gt Uncle in 1871 on his 21st birthday.

Some of the old men in the village said that they can remember him before the war when they were young boys.

They would nick the walnuts and scoot off on their bikes but if he caught them he would chase them and shove his walking stick through the spokes of their bikes. He would probably be arrested now for child molesting!

[Mick Dempsey]

Walnuts can exceed 500yrs, so this is a youngster, although like anything some live longer than others.

 

Extension growth is very limited. Any sign of damage at the base from the cows? If you are looking to help it along then a mulch out to the drip line with rosaceae chip and keeping the cows away from the trunk wouldn't do any harm. Other treatments could include sugar solution, but really David Humphries is your man for ideas on suitable strategies.

 

I wouldn't be particularly worried about late leafing - some varieties will do this so it could just be genetic. It's an advantage in getting a better crop of nuts in frost prone areas.

 

Alec

500 years? Are you George Bernard about that?

[DanClimbsTrees]

Pretty sure lichen is a good thing. If you ever go down to Land's End in Kernow you'll see how lichen covers most of the rock there! It's a sign of very clean air.

[agg221]

500 years? Are you George Bernard about that?

 

Yes. The oldest claimed is 'King of Walnuts' in Khotan, China where estimates vary from 500 to the 'official' 1365:

 

Walnut Garden - A Thread of Silk

 

I wouldn't say I believe the upper estimates, but the size alone indicates that the tree is considerably older than the norm.

 

This reference is more scientifically grounded and mentions trees established to be 300-400yrs old:

 

HEMERY, G.E. and S.I. POPOV (1998): The walnut (Juglans

regia L.) forests of Kyrgyzstan and their importance as a

genetic resource. Commonwealth Forestry Review 77(4), 272–276

 

This quote from a Guardian article may indicate the reason why there are not many olderancient trees known:

 

"In 1709 there was a particularly savage winter and about two-thirds of all the mature walnut trees in Northern Europe died. Apparently a temperature of -20C to -25C kills this species."

 

Alec

[Billhook]

I presume that the Walnuts that are grown for their wood will be different from the ones grown for the nuts.

[se7enthdevil]

no...

 

the wood is just a by product from felling the tree.

[Two Acres]

Yes. The oldest claimed is 'King of Walnuts' in Khotan, China where estimates vary from 500 to the 'official' 1365:

 

Walnut Garden - A Thread of Silk

 

I wouldn't say I believe the upper estimates, but the size alone indicates that the tree is considerably older than the norm.

 

This reference is more scientifically grounded and mentions trees established to be 300-400yrs old:

 

HEMERY, G.E. and S.I. POPOV (1998): The walnut (Juglans

regia L.) forests of Kyrgyzstan and their importance as a

genetic resource. Commonwealth Forestry Review 77(4), 272–276

 

This quote from a Guardian article may indicate the reason why there are not many olderancient trees known:

 

"In 1709 there was a particularly savage winter and about two-thirds of all the mature walnut trees in Northern Europe died. Apparently a temperature of -20C to -25C kills this species."

 

Alec

 

I love this quote from the Thread of Silk link Alec,

 

'With thousands of years' history, it is still high-yield, producing 6000-8000 walnuts per year, which have big size, thin cortex and full kernel. It absorbs the quintessence of the universe and contains its intelligence.'

 

Reading that Its hard to take the claims of 1365 years old seriously.

[agg221]

I love this quote from the Thread of Silk link Alec,

 

'With thousands of years' history, it is still high-yield, producing 6000-8000 walnuts per year, which have big size, thin cortex and full kernel. It absorbs the quintessence of the universe and contains its intelligence.'

 

Reading that Its hard to take the claims of 1365 years old seriously.

 

I agree, but 500 is far more credible. I am sure I have seen reference to a tree in the UK in what is now a public park but was previously a Tudor deer park, which would be around 450yrs old if, as is believed, it is part of the original planting. Unfortunately I can't lay my hands on it.

 

Alec

[agg221]

I presume that the Walnuts that are grown for their wood will be different from the ones grown for the nuts.

 

Yes and no.

 

Both are the same species - Juglans regia, the European or Persian walnut (disregarding the American Juglans nigra, the black walnut) so ultimately the timber is the same.

 

However, if you grow from seed the time to first crop can be up to 20yrs and the nuts are random in size and quality.

 

If you want rapid cropping (3-4yrs to first crop) and consistent quality you need to grow grafted trees of named varieties. These are expensive, so you want to minimise time to first cropping and maximise yield per acre. Weaker growing trees tend to be faster in to bearing and, much like modern apple growing, you get more yield per acre if you get in more trees. Both of these factors tend to mean that trees for nut production are weak growing and are grown on a very short main trunk (3-4ft) to keep them smaller overall. This means that the timber yield is very poor and usually not worth it.

 

There are a small number of varieties which are a good compromise - they form large trees but still come into bearing at a reasonably early age. These include Buccaneer, Proslavski and Plovdivski.

 

graftedwalnuts.co.uk is very useful on the subject, but has given up supplying after his entire stock was eaten by deer one winter.

 

Alec

[daltontrees]

I ahve a client witha very late Walnut in Edinburgh.Looks really worrying but I bet it's burst forth since I saw it a few weeks ago.

 

Dense lichen may be a bi-product of late leafing, giving the lichen (wich is pretty slow growing) an extra month or two of photosynthesising before it is shaded out. I can imagine that in extreme cases it could hamper the development of dormant buds in the inner crown if branch tips were lost to storm damage or general environmental die-back factors.