Nut Trees, Do you plant them

[wdenton]

I am in Michigan and I am thinking I want to plant some nut trees.

Currently I have a Black walnut and a hickory (not sure if it is shag bark or Pignut) that are starting to produce

Anyone have a good place to get them from and any recommendations

I was thinking maybe
English Walnut
a couple of Hazelnut
Hardy Pecan

I would like one that grow quicker and maybe yield quicker (within 5-7 years hopefully)

Who know but maybe years from now I will be bucking these up and using for firewood

 

[DougA]

I planted a number of nut trees years ago and all I can say is that if you want to buck anything you plant now, you had better be very young. Since I'm in southern Ont., I expect your growth will be similar to mine.

The fastest growing/best wood burning trees I have are black locust. Even then, 20 yrs for usable wood but 30 for something giving you 18" rounds. Softer wood grows much faster but burns much faster too. For me, fastest semi usable are poplar, pine & Austree. Ash is good but don't know the survival rate now. Black walnut is just a touch slower than black locust in my experience but black walnut grows high & skinny when planted 10' apart, making it less desirable for wood burning and more for lumber/veneer.

 

[wdenton]

the firewood part would just be a bonus
I am looking more for trees in my area that grow well and produce a lot of nuts

 

[DougA]

Check this out http://michigannut.org/

I added a lot of nut trees to attract more wildlife and to diversify the forest species due to so many problems with more & more species being wiped out.

 

[futzol]

I have dozens of black walnut on my property. They are beautiful trees.. but drop so much fruit its almost tough to keep up with. Plus it creates the perfect habitat for rodents. My cats get 1 - 2 mice per day which isnt enough, they still make nests in my vehicles..., the squirrels chipmunks, weasels...

 

[Oldman47]

I planted 2 english walnuts as yard trees about 30 years ago. This year I got a huge crop of walnuts but almost overnight they were all gone. The darned tree rats got them.

 

[blades]

be aware that where Walnut grows dang near nothing else will as the tree makes its own herbicide ( juxxxxx as I forget the spelling). Me and Tree Nuts do not mix- allergic- with Hazelnut (philberts) on par with Cyanide for me. Don't really gain any weight during the Holidays on account of this. Somebody had made Hazel nut flavored coffee must have been some residual left in the system ended up in the ER. Been this way since I was knee high to to grass hopper.

 

[DougA]

be aware that where Walnut grows dang near nothing else will as the tree makes its own herbicide

I've heard that many times but in my 30 yr old Black Walnut grove (25+ trees), grass grows like crazy under the trees. I get bushels of nuts but as oldman says, they're gone when they drop. I've got one English walnut but it's going to be years before it's ready.

 

[DaveH]

"Anyone have a good place to get them from and any recommendations"


I bought my black walnut from NY Department of Environmental Conservation, maybe Michigan has the same set up. They were three years old, bare root trees, grown in hydroponics I think. Great root system and they took off once planted. I bought Black walnut and Douglas Fir (for privacy and christmas trees). I ordered late and Osage Orange and Black Locust was sold out. Price was $20 for 20-30 trees. Best prices I've seen.


(broken link removed to http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/seedlingbrochure.pdf)

 

[Oldman47]

I think I got my english walnut mail order and bare root from an old school plant nursery like Gurney's. Today I would just google something like this https://www.google.com/search?q=walnut+trees+for+sale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[begreen]

We have a yard full of hazelnuts around the border. Squirrels stash the hazelnuts like acorns and the next year we have a lot more sprouting up. I have to cut them back annually.

 

[Oldman47]

I expect to see that with my walnuts next year begreen. They stripped the tree in just a couple of days and I know I had at least a bushel of nuts close to maturity.