Starting in the early 1980's I started purchasing seeds from named clones of black walnut. One of them called Sparks 147 from Iowa produced some very nice seedlings. One particular seedling was amazing with its long green leaves resistant to anthracnose as well as its unusual growth habit-few side branches and straight as an arrow growth habit. Since then we have realized that this trees also produces very nice seedling trees and have kept it in our rotation of seed grown black walnuts.
In the 90's the tree was found to have a crack rate slightly over 30 percent by weight which is a top scoring black walnut. This is likely a good reason to graft it. The parent trees surrounding this tree are also selections for fast growth and some are amazing producers of black walnuts, so it is a good seed strain as is.
This is one of the best seed grown black walnuts we have at our farm. The nuts are delicious. After cleaning we usually get a full bushel of nuts every other year.
Plant Specs |
Genus & Species |
Juglans nigra |
Seed Source |
Michigan - Nearby polliantors include Lamb and Abraham seedlings plus others |
Hardiness |
-30 F |
Height (ft) |
80 ft. Tall straight selection. |
Width (ft) |
30-50 |
Soil |
Tolerant of dry soils, but faster growth in sandy loams and other heavier moisture retentive soils. Ph 6.5 is ideal. |
Climate |
Zone 3-8 |
Ease of Cultivation |
An easy tree to grow and fruit. May take 4-10 years to fruit from seedling. Using a lever based nut cracker works well but its a slow process but enjoyable to do. Drying the walnuts is not a long process once hulled. About a month on a table in a dry location and the nuts will be close to ready to eat. |