Walnut: Manoka Seedling - Potted

This is a seedling of 'Manoka' from the historic Gellatly nut farm in Kelowna, BC. The main thing we know about this tree is that the nut is easy to crack and HUGE: easily twice the size of a regular walnut, and by far the biggest nut we've ever seen from anything in the Juglans genus. We don't know what that will mean for its seedlings, and we offer these trees to folks on the experimental end of the nutty spectrum. Advice below is for seedlings from Persian walnuts about which more is known, so some of it may not apply to this monster.

In general, walnuts are vigorous, hardy, productive trees when planted in the right location. Walnuts can grow more than 24” each year, and seedlings will yield nuts 4-8 years after planting. They eventually produce abundant crops of nutritious nuts. Partially self-fertile, but we recommend at least two trees to ensure the best crop. Recommended spacing of mature trees is approximately 50’, but planting more densely (as close as 10-15’ apart) will help ensure adequate pollination when trees are younger, and enables eventual selection of the most vigorous, productive trees.

Planting: Walnuts prefer deep, loamy, well-drained soil with pH 5 to 8. They do well on north- and east-facing slopes, and they like to be protected from high wind and frost. They will do best in full sun (at least six hours) but can tolerate partial shade (expect slower growth and reduction in yield). Avoid excessively gravelly or sandy soils (chestnuts or pinenuts would be better suited). Walnuts need ample moisture but they won’t tolerate long periods of standing water. 

Why seedlings? Growing seedlings from productive, vigorous parents helps maintain diversity (each seed is a new variety). In other words, by planting seedlings and picking the best ones, you are participating in the breeding and selection of new, regionally-adapted varieties! We recommend planting several of these trees closer together and selecting your final tree once they've produced their first nuts (4-8 years).

Why potted? If you won't be planting your trees right away and you don't feel sure about storing bare root trees then you want potted trees.  Potted trees will allow you more flexibility with transplanting timelines and late spring installations, however, they are more expensive to produce and to ship.

Our nuts are grown in tree pots, which are designed with a large opening at the bottom to air prune the root. When the taproot reaches the bottom, instead of circling around, the opening enables the root to gently 'self-prune' itself, stimulating the growth of feeder roots further up.