Botanical name: Walnut (Juglans regia). Representative of the genus Walnut, the Nut family.
Homeland of the walnut: Central Asia, Caucasus.
Lighting: light-loving, shade-tolerant.
The soil: fertile, well drained.
Watering: moderate.
Maximum tree height: 30 m.
average life expectancy: 1000 years.
Landing: seeds, vegetatively.
Walnut is a tall tree, reaching up to 30 m in height. It has a wide, spreading crown with numerous branches extending at right angles. The root system is powerful, spreading over a radius of about 20 m. At the age of 80 years, the main root reaches a depth of 5-7 m, lateral roots - 12 m. The root system does not form shoots, but after the death of its above-ground part, shoots appear from the root collar. The tree trunk is straight, up to 2 m in diameter. The bark is light gray, fissured.
The leaves are compound, alternate, imparipinnate, entire, sometimes serrated in the upper part, consisting of 5-9 elongated ovate leaves. The length of the leaf blade can reach 4-7 cm. The leaves have a strong specific smell.
The flowers are small and green in color. Male ones in thick multi-flowered earrings, collected in the axils of the leaves. Females are single or collected in 2-3 pieces, formed on the tops of annual branches. Flowering occurs in late April - early May, simultaneously with or before the leaves bloom. Lasts 15 days. Flowers are pollinated by the wind or pollen from neighboring trees.
You can see how a walnut blooms in the photo, which proves that the tree looks very impressive during this period. The fruits are false drupes containing one four-lobed seed covered with a thin film. The peel is thick, hard, finely wrinkled, smooth, sometimes lumpy. Shell thickness – 0.5 – 1.5 mm. Thick-shelled nuts have a shell thickness of 2.2 mm. When fully ripe, the shell bursts and divides into two parts. The fruits ripen in late August - early September. Their weight and size depend on the variety and place of growth. They can be small, weighing up to 8 g, medium, weighing 9-10 g, or large, weighing more than 12 g. The shape of the nuts is round, oval, ovoid or obovate.
The plant begins to bear fruit 8-12 years after planting. The richest harvests are produced by 50-60 year old trees. From one individual you can get from 10 to 300 kg of fruits per year (depending on age and growing conditions). So, from a 9-year-old plant, on average, 5 kg of fruits are obtained per year, from 20 - 100 kg, from 30 - 150 kg, from 40 - 200 kg, 50 - 250 kg. Especially large harvests are taken from trees standing alone.
Walnut is long-lived. Grown in a garden plot, it can live up to 200-500 years. In the wild - up to 1000 years and longer.
When describing the walnut, one cannot fail to mention that this plant has a high shoot-restorative ability and quickly recovers after pruning the crown or freezing in severe frosts.
The photo presented in our gallery shows all the characteristic features of the walnut.
The tree’s homeland is Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Iran, where, according to the historical version, this culture was known 8,000 years ago. It grows wild on the northern, western and eastern mountain slopes, in gorges, and along river valleys. It settles at an altitude of 1500-2000 m above sea level. It grows singly or in small groups, occasionally forming groves.
Today, walnuts are grown in China, India, Japan, Greece, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Western Europe, Ukraine and other countries with warm climates. In Russia, it is cultivated in the south of the European part, for example, in the Kuban, Stavropol Territory, Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region. Cold-resistant varieties have been bred for northern regions, but the plant cannot withstand severe frosts. Walnut is cultivated in the form of single trees and large plantations. Its main producers: USA, China, Türkiye, Moldova.
The tree is propagated by seeds and vegetative methods. When propagated by seed, all the qualitative features of the variety are preserved. Seeds from last year's harvest have the highest germination potential. Two- and three-year harvests are characterized by reduced germination.
You can learn more about walnuts by watching the following video:
The fruits of this tree are a valuable food product with high taste. Their nutritional value is superior to meat. The kernel contains fats (60-70%), proteins (9-15%), carbohydrates (5-15%). In addition, they contain glucose, sucrose, starch, tannins, vitamins, minerals, pectins, and fiber. The tannin content gives the walnut a tart, slightly astringent taste.
The kernels are eaten mainly raw. No processing required. Widely used in the confectionery industry in the manufacture of cakes, halva, pastries and other products.
Oil is obtained from walnut kernels and is used for food and technical purposes.
The cake is used to feed livestock.
The wood is easy to process, polishes well, has a beautiful pattern, and therefore is a valuable raw material for the production of furniture and finishing plywood.
Black dye is obtained from the shell of the fruit, which is used for dyeing fabrics.
Many gardeners know firsthand how walnuts bloom, since they grow this crop for decorative purposes. During the flowering and fruiting period, the tree looks very unusual and attractive. In addition, the plant is planted along roads, in parks and squares for landscaping cities. Thanks to its powerful root system, it is also used to strengthen ravines.
When purchasing this product, you should know what a high-quality edible walnut looks like. It is better to choose large fruits with thin shells, or give preference to elongated oval-shaped fruits, since the shells of round ones are thicker, therefore, their core is smaller. The shell should not have cracks, damage or scratches. Good kernels are dense and elastic, with a golden hue, covered with a thin film. As a rule, light-weight fruits turn out to be empty.
The walnut tree is a long-lived plant, its fruits are of great value and are widely used as a food product, as well as raw materials for the production of varnishes, soaps, and ink. Many gardeners want to have such a plant in their garden, but they do not know how walnuts grow, and they are also unfamiliar with the intricacies of caring for them.
More than a thousand years ago, this tree arrived in Europe from Central Asia. It was brought to Russia by Greek merchants, which was the reason why the plant received such a name. Now it is being bred not only in hot countries of the world, but also in Russia, Moldova, Belarus, as well as in Ukraine and the Caucasus.
In ancient times, walnuts had several other names.: “food of heroes”, “acorn of the gods”, “tree of life”. From time immemorial, people have respected and loved this powerful plant, because it gave them tasty and very healthy fruits. Other parts of the tree were also actively used, for example, the foliage was used for medicinal purposes.
The walnut is not only one of the largest, but also one of the longest-living species among all trees in the Middle Zone. Based on statistical data, we can say with confidence that some specimens lived up to 400–600 years. However, today the likelihood of meeting such a long-liver is extremely low, because walnut wood is highly valued and is actively used for the production of expensive luxury furniture and decorative elements.
According to experienced gardeners, the number of fruits that can be obtained from one tree primarily depends on the age of the plant. Thus, the yield of a young (up to 50 years old) walnut is not comparable to that which has managed to cross the hundred-year mark.
This walnut tree is considered tall. If the plant likes the place that is allocated to it on the site, and the gardener follows all the prescribed rules for caring for it, then the walnut can grow up to 18-23 meters in height.
The spreading crown of the tree can reach 15 meters in diameter, and the branches diverge at right angles. It should be concluded: before planting such a plant in your garden, you should take a responsible approach to choosing a location so that the grown tree does not spoil the appearance of the site, does not touch the buildings with branches and does not block sunlight from other plantings.
The walnut tree has a very powerful and branched root system.. During the first three years, the main tap root develops; as it grows, it tends to penetrate into the very depths of the soil and gain a foothold in it. At 4-6 years of life of the tree, lateral roots are formed, they diverge 5-6 meters in different directions from the main one.
Such roots are located close to the soil surface, but only 30-50 centimeters deep. This perfect root system helps the adult plant not to suffer from low rainfall and insufficient watering, since the large capture area allows it to independently find water.
If you cut down an adult walnut tree, but do not touch the stump that remains from it, then after a while young shoots will begin to grow from the stump, from which in 1-2 years it will be possible to harvest the first harvest. Take this feature into account if you want to get rid of the tree forever, because in this case it is not enough to simply cut it down, you will have to uproot the stump. There is no need to worry about the roots remaining in the ground - they are not capable of producing new growth.
This nut blooms in spring (April-May) and lasts about 2-3 weeks. Flowers bloom at the very beginning of the growing season, without waiting for all the leaves to form. At the tips of annual shoots, female flowers are formed, on the remaining branches - male flowers, which come together in 5-10 pieces and form earrings.
In the climatic conditions of the middle and southern zone, repeated flowering can be seen, usually in mid-June. The walnut tree is a self-pollinating plant; the fruits ripen by mid-autumn (September-October). It is worth noting that nuts from different trees often differ in size and taste.
Today, Russian gardeners choose one of 20-25 hybrid varieties to grow walnut trees in the climatic conditions of the middle zone. These varieties were bred specifically for our regions; they are characterized by high yields and resistance to low temperatures.
The following varietal species are most suitable for Russian garden plots:
When planning to create a walnut orchard on your site, you must adhere to the following rules:
This heat-loving plant is best grown in the southern regions. In the central part of Russia, it is also able to take root and then bear fruit regularly, but only if the air temperature in winter does not drop below 25 degrees. Severe frosts in most cases lead to the death of the tree.
Today you can purchase seedlings of hybrid forms of walnut. Some of them are able to withstand temperatures up to 30 degrees below zero, but they cannot boast of a bountiful harvest, and they do not bear fruit every year.
If the winter cold leads to freezing of branches and shoots, then you can’t expect nuts this season. Mature trees tolerate drought and heat calmly, but young plants (up to five years old) need to be watered 2-3 times a month. In particularly dry times, the amount of watering should be increased.
The time for planting seedlings depends on the region:
When a suitable location has been selected and the time for landing has arrived, You can start the process itself:
You can also try to grow a new tree from a walnut. It is believed that a plant obtained in this way will develop more successfully, since it will have time to adapt to new conditions even at the seed stage. For this:
It is worth noting that if you want to plant a seed in the spring, then place it in wet sand 2-3 months before. This will help the nut prepare for planting in the ground and increase the chances of germination.
To grow a healthy and strong walnut tree on your site, you do not need to spend a lot of time and effort caring for it. However, it is worth familiarizing yourself with some of the subtleties of this process:
Most gardeners can do all this!
The walnut plant is a tree that came to us from Central Asia more than a thousand years ago. Traders brought it from Greece, which is why it got its name. Now it is grown in many regions of our country, in Ukraine, in the south of Belarus, in Moldova, as well as in the Caucasus. At different times, the nut was called differently: the tree of life, the food of heroes, the acorn of the gods.
The walnut tree is distinguished by a wide spreading crown, its height reaches 30 m. The length of the main root of a tree that has reached 80 years is about 5−7 m, and the lateral roots are 12 m. Branching is due to a developed root system, the radius of which is about 20 m. If the above-ground part of the nut dies, the root collar begins to sprout shoots. The trunk diameter is about 2 m. The color of the bark is light gray.
The shape of the leaves is complex, since they are entire, imparipinnate, and have serrations. The leaf structure includes 5-9 separate leaves with an elongated shape. The leaf blade has a strong odor. Their total length is about 4−7 cm.
Reproduction occurs vegetatively and by seeds. Seed propagation allows you to preserve the characteristics of a particular variety. Last year's seed collection is characterized by maximum germination. It is slightly lower for two- and three-year fees.
The male and female flowers, which have a green tint, bloom towards the beginning of May. The male ones are thick multi-flowered catkins hanging from the axils of the leaves. Female flowers are single flowers or inflorescences consisting of 2-3 pieces. They grow on annual tree branches along the very edge. The flowering period is 15 days. Pollination occurs with the help of wind or pollen from neighboring trees.
During the flowering period, walnuts look very beautiful. The skin of false drupes is hard and smooth at the same time. The nut shell has a thickness of 0.5−1.5 mm. Fruit ripening occurs before the beginning of September. The region where the tree grows has a certain influence on the weight and size of the fruit. Small ones weigh up to 8 g, medium ones - 9−10 g, and large ones - 12 g or more.
Wild walnuts often occupy northern, western and eastern mountain slopes, gorges, and river valleys. The tree occupies a height of 1.5−2 km above sea level on the slopes. Small groups of nuts are found, isolated individuals, groves - in rare cases.
The cultivated plant grows in India, China, Greece, Japan, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Central Asia, Ukraine and Western Europe. In Russia, the nut grows in the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, in the Kuban, and in the Rostov region. Plants are difficult to tolerate the harsh climate of the northern regions of Russia, but the cultivation of cold-resistant varieties is widespread.
In central Russia, walnut varieties imported from eastern Ukraine, the Caucasus or the Central Asian mountain region are being developed. The European part of Russia is more convenient for growing the plant, therefore culture occurs over a large area, starting from the foothills of the Caucasus, ending with St. Petersburg.
Imported seedlings have difficulty adapting to the conditions of new regions. A hybrid Manchurian variety with high frost resistance, grows in the middle zone and in the north of Russia. Varieties brought from the southern regions do not take root well in the harsh Russian climate. They do not freeze completely, but they also do not grow to their full potential.
Growing nuts of southern varieties is carried out taking into account the average daily temperature (above 10 C), and not sub-zero in the cold season. If the average temperature level for 130-140 days is not lower than 0 degrees, and in winter - not lower than 36, then walnut fruiting is observed. During the growth period, it is very important to properly care for the plant.
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The fruits are valuable for their qualities, which are determined by the content of the following substances in them:
The latter give the fruit a light astringent taste. The taste characteristics of the fruit depend on its composition: fats - 60−70%; proteins - 9−15%; carbohydrates - 5−15%.
The main nut producers are the following countries: USA, Turkey, China, Moldova.
The nut kernels are not processed, but are used in their original form. The main area of application is the confectionery industry. The nut is added to cakes, pastries, halva and other desserts. Suitable for the production of oil used in the food industry. The cake is consumed by livestock.
Walnut or Voloshka nut grows in almost every garden. This is a tall tree with a spreading crown, which produces extremely healthy fruits with an unusual taste. Planting a nut and caring for a young plant is not difficult. You need to know how a walnut grows and what it needs for normal development.
Walnut bears fruit annually
Walnuts bring rich harvests every year. The fruits have almost the same high nutritional value as hazelnuts and are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, micro and macroelements.
Every person has seen walnuts and tasted their fruits at least once in their life. In the middle zone and southern regions, this tree can be found not only in a summer cottage, but also in a park or by the road. Voloshsky nut is very unpretentious to living conditions and tolerates frost and heat. Appearance of Volosh walnut tree:
Leaves and flowers bloom at the same time - in May. Walnuts sometimes bloom again in early June. The flowers are pollinated by the wind.
Wild Volosh nut grows in Transcaucasia, northern China and India, Iran, and the Balkans. The plant is distributed throughout Ukraine. In the northern regions of Russia, walnuts grow, but do not develop into large trees. Plants can withstand low temperatures down to -20 °C. During prolonged severe frosts, the nut freezes.
Moderately moist, humus-rich soils are ideal for Volosh nut. It is important that the soil has good air permeability. The root system of the tree reaches a depth of 4 m and extends along the sides for 20 m.
Walnut lives for centuries, the average age of a large tree is 200–250 years. Throughout its life, the plant retains the ability to bear fruit.
The walnut tree can grow to enormous sizes
How many years should pass from the moment the nut seeds are planted to the first fruiting? Usually the first nuts appear at 10–12 years of the tree’s life. The plant begins to produce rich harvests in 25–30 years. The fruits ripen in mid-September - early October.
The walnut fruit is enclosed in a green, leathery shell (pericarp). The nut ripens in it. When the process is complete, the skin dries out and cracks. Inside there is a bone with an edible core. The peel does not open on its own; it is very strong and tree-like. Inside the shell has a cavity divided into partitions. The septa divide the nucleus into equal parts.
Walnut kernels are shaped like a brain. On the outside they are covered with a thin light brown skin. The taste of the fruit is unusual, sweetish, the skin is slightly tart, sometimes bitter or sour. The average weight of one walnut (including shell) is 5–17 g.
The kernels contain a large number of useful substances. These are unsaturated fats, proteins, vitamin B1, provitamin A. The fruits are widely used in cooking, folk medicine, and the food industry.
Walnuts are very nutritious
Voloshsky nut is a valuable tree that produces many extremely healthy and tasty fruits. The most difficult task is to wait for these very fruits and keep the tree healthy. Before growing a walnut, you need to consider several important aspects:
You need to immediately study the rules for caring for seedlings, the features of their growth and development. You can plant walnuts at home in separate tubs with prepared soil or in a greenhouse. When the plants reach a certain age, they are planted in open ground.
In order for the nut to grow well, it is important to choose the right and high-quality planting material. There are two ways to plant a nut:
The seedlings have a developed root system, so they grow and bear fruit faster. After planting the seeds in the ground, it takes about a year for the main root to form.
You can buy seeds or prepare them yourself. Harvesting is carried out during the period of fruit ripening, when the green shell dries out and begins to crack. Several large and smooth fruits are collected. They are dried at home. Then the seeds need to be kept for about 100 days at a low temperature (0–10 °C). If the shells are thin, you need to keep them for 50 days at 18 °C. This is done to prepare the seeds for real environmental conditions.
Seedlings are grown from seeds in a film greenhouse. To obtain a straight shoot, the nut must be lowered into the hole sideways. A hole is dug to a depth of 7 cm for small seeds, 11 cm for large seeds. Seedlings grow from seeds in 2 years.
You can immediately buy seedlings ready for planting. It is important to pay attention that there is no plaque on the trunk and branches, that all leaves are fresh and not dry.
Walnut seedlings will allow you to get a harvest faster
Before planting a walnut, it is very important to choose the right place on the site. To do this, you need to take into account several factors:
The ideal place for planting walnuts is upland. The plant needs soil with a high carbonate content, moderately moist. Loamy soils are well suited.
The soil for planting Volosh nuts must be prepared and processed in advance. The earth is dug up to a depth of 80 cm–100 cm. Manure mixed with a small amount of ash and the addition of superphosphate is added to the entire depth. As the walnut tree grows, the topsoil is replaced and enriched every year. The processing area is equal to the size of the crown.
When consistently warm weather sets in (mid-April - early May), seedlings can be planted in open ground.
Walnut loves space and good lighting
It is very important to provide proper care to young trees so that their root system develops normally. The main factors for proper care of a walnut tree:
Mature trees do not require special care. If the planting site and soil are chosen correctly, the tree will grow well and bear fruit every year. Trees need to be watered during drought, fertilized periodically, and the soil renewed.
Young trees need regular watering. Active growth of roots, trunk, branches and leaves requires a lot of water. Watering the trees begins in mid-April and ends at the end of September. Basic rules of watering:
When the height of the tree reaches 4–5 meters, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time per month. During periods of drought, plants need to be watered more intensively. It is necessary to water the soil under the root and around the tree so that the soil is evenly moist.
A young nut needs three buckets of water twice a month
Walnut feeding is carried out in spring and autumn. The plant needs nitrogen, potassium and phosphate fertilizers. There are several rules for applying fertilizing:
Plants that are 20–50 years old are fed with ammonium nitrate (7 kg), potassium salt (2–2.5 kg), superphosphate (10 kg).
Young plants during the first years of fruiting (2–3 years) cannot be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. This is necessary so that the nut will bear more fruit in the future.
Young trees are pruned to form a crown. Usually the plant copes with this task on its own. Dry, damaged, unnecessary side shoots need to be trimmed.
Pruning should not be done in the spring, as this may affect the healthy growth of the plant and it will lose a lot of moisture. You can trim the branches in early summer. The shoot is removed twice. In the first year, most of the branch is removed, leaving a small twig (7–10 cm). In the second year, the already dried remainder of the branch is cut off. This is done in the spring. The cut is treated with garden varnish.
Walnut trimming: first year, second year, third year and fourth year
Diseases and pests can significantly affect the growth and development of a walnut tree. The most common nut diseases:
The nut is also attacked by a variety of insects - codling moth, white butterfly caterpillars, wart mite, and nut moth. Insecticides will help cope with them.
If tinder fungi grow on a nut, they must be cut off. To prevent fungal diseases in some regions, tree trunks are coated with lime with the addition of copper.
The caterpillar is one of the walnut pests
You can collect walnuts when cracks become noticeable. The collected nuts must be kept for 7–10 days in a cool, dark room. During this time, the pericarp will soften and turn black, making it easier to tear off. It is better to clean nuts while wearing gloves, as it will be difficult to wash dirty fingers. The shelled nuts are dried in the sun. If the fruits are not ripe and the pericarp is not removed, they should also be kept in the sun.
Walnut is a valuable cultivated plant. Its fruits are rich in nutrients. Before growing a walnut, you need to choose a suitable place for it on the site and enrich the soil. If you provide young seedlings with proper care, they will quickly become large luxurious trees that will delight you with a rich harvest every year.
