Walnut is a representative of the trees of the walnut family, spread from Central Asia. The fruits are large, have a hard round shell. The kernels are edible, separated by thin partitions. The pulp is rich in oils and amino acids. The useful composition of fruits and leaves is the main feature of this tree and explains its popularity.

Description and characteristics of popular varieties

Good lighting and enough heat are the main requirements of this tree. However, varieties that are resistant to frost are currently bred, so it is permissible to grow walnuts in a cool climate.

The best varieties of walnuts:

• "Dessert . " The tree is medium in size, the foliage is wide and spreading. Fruits ripen early, have a sweet aftertaste. It is drought resistant. It is susceptible to cold temperatures, since flower buds are damaged by the cold and the wood deteriorates. Landing is recommended in warm climates. Begins to bear fruit in the fourth year of life. Harvest plentiful;
  

• "Elegant . " The height of the tree reaches 5 m, the crown has an oval shape. The variety is resistant to drought and disease. Begins to bear fruit five years after planting. Can be grown in cool climates;
  

• "Harvest . " The tree has medium height, broad, rounded foliage. Fruits four years after planting. Harvest plentiful. Due to endurance at low temperatures, it can grow in the northern strip;
  

• "Aurora . " The tree grows and matures quickly. Each year, the number of fruits increases;
  

• "The ideal . " A popular variety among Russians. It has good frost resistance, can withstand temperatures up to -35 ° C. The size is medium, it bears fruit in one year twice. The abundance of the crop is superior to other varieties.
  

The existing variety of walnut varieties is increasing every year. Preference is given to unpretentious to climatic conditions varieties giving a plentiful harvest.

How to Plant a Walnut Tree

Walnut grows quite well and develops at low temperatures, but is demanding on lighting. If groundwater and marshland are located nearby, the nut will not grow under such conditions. These factors must be considered. Each of these methods will be considered separately.

Walnut propagates in several ways:

• vaccination;
• seeds;
• seedlings.

Did you know? Walnut was brought to the territory of Russia about 1, 000 years ago. It got its name thanks to the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, along which merchants transported it.

Vaccinated

The peculiarity of reproduction by vaccination is that it allows you to save the nutritional characteristics of the plant. The grafted seedlings grow faster and produce crops after five years. To propagate the nut in this way, you need two-year-old plants.

It is better to carry out the vaccination procedure in the summer, since in winter the seedlings take root worse. However, experienced gardeners sometimes breed walnuts in winter, in February. But in this case, it is advisable to store the vaccine material in a warm room from December to February. Thus, shoots suitable for propagation can be obtained.

In summer, plants are propagated by buds or eyes. This method is called budding and is carried out as follows:

1. With a special knife with a bifurcated blade around the kidney on the handle, make a notch.
2. Cut a kidney along with a piece of bark from the back of the handle.
3. After cleaning the stock from dirt, make a notch at a height of 5 cm and remove the same piece of bark.
4. Connect the stock and scion in the place where the bark is removed and fix with a film so that only one eye remains free.

And - in the stock make a T-shaped incision; b — an inserted peephole of a cultivar; in - at the inserted eye, if necessary, cut off the part protruding from the horizontal notch; g - the peephole is fixed with an elastic grafting tape; d - the peephole is fixed with a budding patch with a clip.

The peculiarity of the budding is that the likelihood of a new shoot from the vaccinated kidney will be higher. A stock is a plant to which a kidney is grafted. As a stock, two-year-old plants grown from seeds or seedlings are suitable. Scion - a vaccinated kidney. You can use young shoots of germinated seeds.

To plant plants in winter is a little more difficult. For this purpose, the method of copulation is used - grafting two components of the same thickness. However, seedlings grafted in winter rarely take root. For copulation, you need to choose actively developing young seedlings grown independently from seeds and having healthy buds (for grafting).

Before the procedure, the grafting material (rootstock and graft) is heated for several days in a warm room at a temperature of + 15 ° С. After this time, make an oblique cut at the ends of both seedlings, while at the graft, the bud should be on the back side. Then, in the middle of the cut, a notch is made in the form of a tongue. The stock should be cut from the bottom up, and the scion - from top to bottom. Then the tongues are interconnected and fixed with a film or bandage.

After vaccination, plants need to provide care and monitoring:

1. The place where grafted seedlings are stored should be warm, approximately + 26 ° С. The soil should be just as warm. If you observe such a temperature regime, then the growth of seedlings will be continuous. You can plant them in the ground at the end of the spring season.
2. For planting, soil containing moist carbonate loams with a minimum level of groundwater is suitable.
3. Before planting, you need to cultivate the soil. Fertilize additionally: mix manure with ash in the proportion of 1 bucket of manure per 250 g of ash. As a top dressing, you can use 500 g of superphosphate.
4. Fill the top dressing into the planting pit to a depth of 80 cm. Each year, the topsoil must be fertilized in an area approximately equal to the size of the crown.

Planting scheme for seedlings obtained by vaccination:

1. In the land prepared for landing, make a pit 40 × 40.
2. Put a piece of plastic film on the bottom to further stimulate root growth.
3. Carefully position the lateral roots horizontally. Gradually fall asleep with fertile soil from the lower roots to the upper.

Important! The soil layer covering the upper roots should not be more than 7 cm. In order for the walnut to develop well, grow quickly and bear fruit, it is necessary to take care of it: observe the watering regime, fertilize and feed on time.

Seeds

Seeds for sowing need to be collected when the green peel of the nut opens. You need to choose only the largest fruits that do not have defects. The collected nuts must be completely dried. As a planting material, it is better to use your own crop.

Planting of autumn fruits will have to be postponed until spring. All this time they will undergo pre-sowing training. For this, stratification is suitable - long soaking of seeds to accelerate germination. Did you know? High-quality activated carbon is made from burnt walnut shells.

On average, stratification takes 4 months. If the nut has a thick peel, then stratification will take about a hundred days. The temperature during this period of time should be + 7 ° C. Fruits with a thin and medium shell are soaked for 45 days adhering to a temperature of + 18 ° C. Before soaking the nuts in the substrate, they must first be kept in water for 2-3 days. At the same time, water needs to be changed every day to avoid the accumulation of tannins that the shell contains.

For stratification you will need:

• substrate from wet sawdust, or river sand, also wet. Sawdust is recommended to steam and cool. The amount of substrate will depend on the depth of the tank;
• capacity. Old wooden boxes of small depth will do.

Having prepared everything you need, you can start soaking:

1. Put some wet sawdust and sand on the bottom of the tank. Depth should be approximately 20 cm.
2. Seed the seeds rib to a depth of 11 cm for large kernels and 8 cm for small ones. The distance between seedlings should be about 30 cm.
3. Pour seedlings with a substrate (sand and sawdust) in a small layer, about 6 cm.
4. Cover with a film and leave in the room until spring at a temperature of + 7 ° C.

Video: Walnut Stratification

While the seedlings will pass the period of soaking, each month it will be necessary to check the condition of the substrate. It must be ensured that it is wet, but not wet. If there is too much moisture, the nuts will mold. Check the humidity of the substrate by compressing it in a fist. If water oozes, then it is not wet, but wet. In this case, it must be removed and replaced with a suitable one.

Sand is checked the same way. Wet forms a lump, while wet will be crumbly. Closer to spring, seeds should be checked twice a week and the substrate should be mixed. When the first roots appear, you need to lower the temperature to +1 ... + 2 ° C. A few days before planting, the temperature should be gradually increased. Read also about growing walnuts in central Russia and Siberia. It is better to plant seeds in April, when the earth warms up to + 10 ° С. The soil must be loosened in advance and fertilized. For 1 bucket of water there is 1 glass of wood ash and 1 glass of superphosphate. Next, you need to dig out the landing pits, the depth of which is 20 cm. The distance between them should be at least 5 m.

Up to four sprouted nuts can be put in one hole. You need to spread it flat, otherwise the grown plants will begin to bear fruit later. Bury pits with seeds. Of the four planted fruits, only the strongest will be accepted. Seedlings grown in this way will begin to bear fruit in the seventh year after transplanting into open ground.

Sapling

The grown seedlings are planted in open ground. The landing site is chosen well-lit and spacious. The soil should consist mainly of wet sand and clay. Important! The distance between the holes should be at least five meters.

Before embarking, the land must be properly prepared:

1. Cultivate and level out.
2. Dig out 60 × 60 planting pits with a depth of 80 cm. Prepare the holes on the day of planting to keep moisture in them. If the land is dry, additional watering will be required.
3. Add fertilizer to the pit. One pail of manure accounts for half a kilogram of ash.
4. For the unhindered development of the roots in the pit, you can make an additional recess of 30-40 cm.

Damaged roots must be removed. After making sure that the seedling does not have them, you need to put it in the hole. The lateral roots during planting need to be leveled so that they are in a horizontal position. Then fill with earth from the lower roots to the upper.

The appropriate time of year to start planting seedlings varies by region. For example:

• You can grow walnuts in the Middle lane from mid-spring to mid-autumn until frost;
• for the north, a period begins that begins in mid-April and ends in mid-May. At this time, the seedlings will have time to take root before the onset of cold weather;
• in the south, planting material can be planted from mid-spring to mid-autumn.

It is important to choose the right planting dates, as this will determine how intensively the young tree grows and develops.

What can be planted next to a walnut

Next to such a giant as a walnut, the neighborhood of other trees is impossible.

But there are types of plants that can be planted under it:

• shrubs - blackcurrant, raspberry and gooseberry;
• plants that prefer shade - parsnip, parsley and zucchini;
• until the leaves of the nut have blossomed, irises, tulips and peonies can grow under it;
• fragrant herbs with medicinal properties - tansy, mint and lemon balm;
• garlic.

Nut Care

After planting a seedling, it is necessary to provide him with full care. Regular watering, frost protection, pruning, timely top dressing and disease prevention will ensure development and health of the young plant. The yield and appearance of the nut will depend on proper care. Did you know? The Central Asian proverb says: "The one who sees the nut flower will die."

Watering a plant

An adult nut should be watered only in the hot months. Two buckets of water once every three weeks will be enough. You can also add mulch at the place of irrigation (sand, sawdust). It will hold moisture. A young tree needs 2-3 buckets of water once every two weeks. Do not allow stagnation of moisture in the soil. To do this, loosen the soil around the trunk.

Nut fertilizer after planting

You need to feed the plant once a year. Each season is suitable for different types of fertilizers. In the spring, you need to make nitrogen fertilizers, and in the autumn, mineral fertilizers. A plant needs especially nutrition in the first year of life. Did you know? Harvest of one walnut produces about 300 kg of fruit.

Each tree needs to:

• 10 kg of superphosphate;
• 6 kg of nitrate;
• 3 kg of potassium salt;
• 10 kg of ammonium sulfate.

It is easy to grow a walnut. The planting scheme of seedlings from seeds and obtained by grafting are standard. Differences may relate to the time of year and the timing of fertilizer application. It is preferable to plant plants prepared on their own. This will guarantee that the tree will grow strong and healthy. Harvest will be plentiful only if the requirements for care are met.