Walnut

Walnut

Asked on 31 Jan, 2008

I live next to a large recreation ground which has had for many years a large walnut tree. 2007 produced an amazing amount of walnuts and I picked several hoping to sow them and produce a small tree. Nothing seems to have happened to the seeds which I planted in September, (I've dug them up to have a look!), I tried 1 in a pot in the garden, 1 indoors and 1 in the greenhouse. Any suggestions of how or if they can in fact be grown from seed.

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Andrewr

31 Jan, 2008

I have checked two books and they give similar advice.

Firstly, you should have removed the fleshy husk before sowing the seed (you are recommended to wear gloves when doing this to avoid finishing with stained hands). You can either sow the seed immediately or dip it in a fungicide solution, mix with peat in a polythene bag and store it in the fridge. If using the latter method, check the bag regularly and as soon as the seed starts to germinate, sow it in pots and place in a cold frame or cold greenhouse.

In either case, the seeds need cold conditions before they will germinate (this is known as stratification) so I would not expect them to do so before spring. Just be patient.