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Heartnut Tree

Heartnut Tree

A type of Japanese walnut deciduous tree, (family of Juglandaceae and genus Juglans), that produces
an sweet edible heart-shaped nut. The twigs are often as big around as broom handles and the leaves
are compound and can be two to three feet long. With adequate moisture and protection from weed
competition they can put on six to eight feet of height growth per year. A large firmly entrenched taproot
forms a fast-growing, very cold hardy Heartnut tree that is relatively easy to transplant and survive.
The delicious kernel has a high oily content and is very tasty and crunchy when eaten raw or when
toasted. The nuts form in clusters, and each cracks neatly in half, so they are pretty easy to shell.


Technically, the trees are self-fertile but they will set a larger crop if you plant 2 seedlings, 2 different
grafted varieties or a seedling and a grafted tree. It has light grey bark and pinnate leaves with 11 to 17
leaflets. The male flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green catkins produced in spring at the same time
as the new leaves appear. The female flowers have pink/ red pistils.

Introduction
Mr. John Doe

Head Director

Description

Optimal Time/Temperature for Germination:
It grows quicker than either black or English walnuts, and will start producing in just a few years, even from seed. The Hardy zones are 5 to 9. They can withstand extreme temperatures of cold and hot with a report of withstanding -40 degrees Fahrenheit. The tree size can range from 10-15 m (40 ft) in height and spread. Wind machines for frost protection adopted by vinifera grape growers would benefit heartnut growers too. It would allow them to grow heartnuts in less than ideal climatic conditions and possibly use cheaper land to buy, offsetting the cost of the machines. One machine will protect up to 5 acres of trees. If planting by seed, a two-month stratification period is a minimum for most nut seeds. It is not necessary to remove the hulls.
Optimal Soil Conditions:
The heartnut tree is best suited to well drained fertile sand and clay loam soils with a pH of 6 to 7. Do not plant in heavy clay soils and soils with a pH below 6. If the pH is too low, it should be raised with an application of agricultural lime. Be sure to work a generous amount of well-aged compost into the hole before planting. These trees are heavy feeders and will benefit greatly from nourishing soil. In terms of sun, you won’t be able to get away with planting any of these babies in the shade. They need full sun, and a lot of it: at least eight hours of it per day.
Seed Planting Depth, Spacing and Procedure:
Whether you’re planting a young seedling or a grafted sapling, aim to plant it in late spring, once the ground has fully thawed. Dig a hole that’s about a foot wide and a foot deep, and toss some beautifully aged compost in there. Make enough room for the young tree’s roots, and place it into the hole gently. Backfill with a mixture of soil and compost. Water it in well, add a bit of soil as a top-up and tamp down the soil gently to hold it into place. If you live in a very hot, sunny locale, consider wrapping the trunk with aluminum foil. This will protect it from getting sunburnt. Then drive a couple of 6-foot stakes into the earth to flank the tree, leaving eight to 12 inches of space between the tree and the sticks. Secure the tree between the stakes with soft ties or garden tape.
Best Companion Plants and Plants that Hinder:
Just like European walnut trees, heartnuts contain juglone, an allelopathic compound that inhibits plant growth around it. Basically, it creates its own herbicide to keep potential competition at bay. This way, nothing else is vying for precious nutrients anywhere near it. Only a few plants can thrive despite the juglone in the soil nearby. If you’re aiming for permaculture type tree guilds and companion planting, choose pawpaws, currants, elderberries, and various nightshade (Solanaceae) plants as understories.

Growing Instructions

Crop Maintenance

Moisture Requirements & Solutions:
In the first year, water around your heartnut trees on a weekly basis if you don’t receive regular moisture from mother nature. Increase this to twice a week during seriously hot weather or during droughts. Never let the soil dry out completely, as these trees are heavy drinkers and need constant moisture in order to thrive.
Weeding Needs & Solutions:
In dry conditions, you might want to spread mulch around the tree’s base. This will retain moisture and suppress weed growth. Spread this two to three feet all around the tree, but keep it five inches from the trunk itself.
Feeding Needs/Optimal Natural Fertilizers:
There’s no need to fertilize your heartnut trees in their first year. Gardens alive natural tree fertilizer is made only of plant and animal by-products, never synthetic chemicals or fillers. Shrubs Alive will help ornamental shrubs and trees grow larger, greener and stronger. It’s best applied twice per season, once in the early spring and again in early August.
Pests, Diseases & Solutions:
On a more positive note, although juglone is allelopathic it also has a few benefits. For example, it’s a natural pesticide, which means that these trees are immune to predation by just about every insect other than luna moths and their larvae. As you can imagine, it’ll also help to protect the other companion plants embraced within the heartnuts’ canopy and drip line. The only significant disease Japanese walnuts are susceptible to is the Walnut Bunch Disease. Japanese walnut is resistant to a canker disease caused by a fungus. This has led to its being planted as a replacement for butternuts in North America. The two species hybridise readily (the result ‘buartnut’) is also resistant to canker and is likewise planted as a replacement for butternuts.
When to Harvest/Number of days to maturity:
Heartnut tree grown from seed will begin to bear within 3-5 years of planting while grafted trees generally begin cropping earlier. The earliest heartnuts will begin to ripen and drop in mid-September with about a two-week drop period. To maintain the best nut quality, nuts need to be collected and the husk removed within a few days of dropping. Heartnuts start to produce approximately three years after planting, though you won’t get a hearty crop for six or seven years. If you’d like yours to start producing more quickly, then try to get your hands on older saplings. The more mature the plant, the more quickly you’ll be crunching. Nuts will ripen anywhere from the end of August to mid-October, depending on the locale.
How to Harvest:
These are some of the easiest nuts to harvest. Seriously, the shells crack open easily and the flesh within falls out in a single, whole piece. These sweet, mild nuts stay delicious when stored at room temperature for up to a decade, but you can also vacuum seal them or freeze them for long-term storage.
Optimal Storage temperature and conditions:
They taste like a cross between Brazil nuts and pecans, with a sweet, mild flavor. The kernel should be plump and pale gold in color but uniform pale gray and beige tones are also acceptable. (Variable tones and shrivel are undesirable.) These are not only one of the best-tasting of all the walnuts, but they store for years and years and only taste better as they age. Somewhere between five to eight years in storage will give you the best flavor. These sweet, mild nuts stay delicious when stored at room temperature for up to a decade, but you can also vacuum seal them or freeze them for long-term storage.
Optimal Preserving Procedures:
Seed Saving:
Heartnut can be propagated by grafting or by seed. Seed does not always produce seeds that are true so you never know what you are going to get. Just keep in mind that trees may revert back to their wild type if you purchase seeds or saplings of a named cultivar. Seedlings have widely variable quality including poor cracking ability.

Harvest and Storage

Notes

There are several hybrids of heartnut trees crossed with other nut trees. You might see them crossed with English walnuts, Persian, black walnuts, butternut called butterhearts. Buartnuts will also pollinate heartnuts, however, pollination by other heartnuts is most recommended. You may have some walnut wood furniture somewhere in your home. If you do, you’ll know how sturdy it can be. Although heartnut wood is a bit softer than European walnut wood, it polishes up beautifully and can be used for a number of different pieces. The wood is light and takes polish well, but is of much lower quality than Perian walnut wood but is often used to make furniture. If you’re a crafty sort, try turning heartnut wood into bowls or carving them into kuksa drinking cups. You can also use the branches as broom handles. Paint the trunk of the heartnut tree with white, water-based latex paint to protect it from sunburn. Spread the paint from the bottom of the trunk up to the base of the first scaffold branch.

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