|
| |
Filberts Care Guide
Chestnut, Chinquapin,
Heartnut, Filbert, Pecan
Chinese chestnut grows in zones 5-8 and will usually survive in
sheltered spots in 4b. self-unfruitful; two or more varieties or
seedlings must be planted to assure production of nuts.
The soil should be well drained, slightly acid, and humusy. Although
trees planted in poor soil will produce nuts, they are much inferior to
the nuts of trees planted in good soil. Give each tree a space 50’ in
diameter.
Fertilize newly planted trees very lightly after they put out growth. In
subsequent years, give the trees a 10-10-10 fertilizer in early spring
at the rate of 2 cups per inch of trunk diameter.
Chestnut weevils are the worst insect pests. Control by spraying* in
August at 2 week intervals or when harvesting drop nuts in a bucket of
water. The unaffected nuts will sink, throw the floating nuts away. If
nuts are left on the ground the insect population will increase causing
more damage yearly.
Chestnuts are harvested when the burs in which they are enclosed open
and the nuts fall to the ground. Occasionally, however, the burs fall
without releasing the nuts; in which case, you must open them by hand.
Pick up the nuts every day, because they deteriorate if left in the sun.
They must then be cured for three to seven days-until they feel a little
soft- in order to reduce their moisture content and increase their sugar
content. Placing them in a shady, airy place either in trays of in open
containers does this.
Store nuts in ventilated plastic bags in the fresh-food compartment of
your refrigerator. Large quantities of nuts can be mixed with barely
damp peat, placed in light plastic bags and stored in a garage or
basement at temperature just above freezing (this storage method is
preferred if chestnut weevils are known or thought to be present). They
will keep for months.
* At this time we do not know what spray to recommend. Please consult
an extension agent.
Heartnuts (Juglans ailantifolia var. cordiformis) have a valentine
heartshaped nut and kernel. The tree is very pretty with lush foliage
even more tropical looking the Ailanthus, tree of heaven. Hulling
heartnuts is easy. They are an easy addition to one's diet because they
are easy to grow, crack out of their hull and delicious. Heartnuts store
very well. In fact they improve on their flavor reminiscent to the taste
of Brazil nuts.
Heartnuts are very hardy and mature trees are growing in
Montreal with some winter damage. Heartnut trees are low headed,
spreading laterally from a single short trunk. They are much more
ornamental than the American Black Walnut, which is erect and limby.
Heartnuts are the most disease resistant trees of the walnut family and
should hold their leaves well into fall.
. Heartnuts are adaptable to soil types and survive even in soils
with a rich moist soil top, with high water table, hardpan or bedrock or
cold subsoil underneath. Heartnuts cast @ 70% shad. They make an
excellent shade tree. Plant trees 30' apart.
Chinquapin, (Castanea pumila) also spelled "Chinkapins" and sometimes
called dwarf or bush chestnuts are shrubs and small trees commonly found
through the eastern, southern, and south-eastern United States. The
plants usually bear one nut per bur and have burs (involucres) that open
into two halves, such as a clam shell.
The Allegheny chinquapin, also called the American, common, or
tree chinquapin, may well be our most mistreated and misrepresented
native North American nut tree. It has been widely hailed as a sweet and
edible nut; wood source for fuel, charcoal, fence post, and railroad
ties; coffee and chocolate substitutes; for wildlife (birds an mammals);
dwarfing rootstock for other Castanea spp.; and a blight-resistant taxon
for hybridizing with other chestnut species; in addition, the root has
been used as an astringent, a tonic, and to treat fevers.
Castanea pumila var. pumila is a large, spreading,
smooth-barked, multistemmed shrub that is 2 to 4 m tall. Occasionally,
there is but a single stem and the plant may reach 5 to 8 m. Large trees
are sometimes found especially where humans have intervened and removed
competing trees.
The Allegheny chinquapin is found in dry sandy woods and
thickets from southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, west to Indiana and
Missouri , and south to Florida and Texas. It is usually ready for
harvest in early September. Harvest must be prompt to gather nuts before
wildlife (birds and small mammals) remove the entire crop.
Chinquapins are quite susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamont root
rot so it is best to grow in well drained soil.
From present indications this tree will be well worthy of
cultivation as an ornamental shade tree or bush. Even if we leave out of
the account its rapid growth, productivenes, and delicious little nuts,
which will be very acceptable for home use, if not possessing any great
commercial value.
Filberts also called hazelnuts or hazels, filberts are deciduous shrubs
6' to 30' which produce small nuts in the fall. They grow best in zones
8 and 9 in the Northwest, but to well in 6 and 7 pretty much throughout
the country. Self-unfruitful; plant at least two varieties.
Culture, Plant filberts in a spot protected from bitter winter
winds. The plants do not have tap roots, but put down very deep roots.
They should have a deep, well drained, fertile, humus soil. In colder
climates, where plants don’t grow as large they need a space only 10 to
12 ft. across.
Because filberts are small trees, it is more practical to mulch
then than larger nut trees. Use hay, leaves, or other organic material.
The nutrients the mulch contributes to the soil is important to maintain
of vigorous growth and good nut production. Further to promote growth,
you should fertilize the plants with a balanced fertilizer such as
20-10-10. Apply ½ cup after the young plants are making growth; 1 cup
the next year; and from then on increase the dosage by 1 cup a year
until you reach 6. This is about the maximum for cold climates; but in
milder areas, you can increase the supply 30 to 50 per cent.
Filberts start to bear two or three years after they are
planted. They reach good production three or four years later, but are
likely to become erratic after ten years unless they are pruned
severely.
Nuts are harvested from the ground after they drop. If the husks
remain, these must be removed. The nuts should then be spread out in a
warm dry, shady place to dry.
Pecans are a species of hickory. The sweet, brown, oblong nuts are
produced in the fall. They grow in zones 5b - 9. Although pecans are
self-fruitful, they are not reliably so because they often shed pollen
at a time when the pistils are only partly receptive. Furthermore the
nuts are of inferior quality. You should, therefore, plant two
varieties- one that sheds its pollen early and the other that sheds it
pollen late.
Pecans are divided into three groups: Eastern varieties are
particularly adapted to the humid Southeast, although they do well
farther west. They have above-average resistance to scab and other
diseases. Western varieties grown from central Texas westward. They are
well adapted to a fairly dry climate and alkaline soil, but they are
very susceptible to scab and other diseases. Northern varieties mature
their nuts in an unusually short time. They are tolerant of disease.
Pecans are very deep rooted, so they require a very deep soil.
This should be a good loam, well drained and containing humus. Sandy and
clay soils are much less desirable, although they can be improved to
make the trees reasonably at home.
Undoubtedly the most important thing you can do is to water
them frequently so that moisture reaches down to the bottom of the tap
root. Mulching with a thick layer of hay or other organic material is
recommended.
In subsequent years, water as necessary to maintain an even
supply of moisture around the roots from the time the trees start making
growth in the spring until the nuts are harvested in the fall. A lack of
moisture at any time during this period will adversely affect the growth
and output of the trees not only in the current year but also in the
year following.
Fertilize newly planted trees when they put out growth with 1/2
cup of 10-10-10. Apply an additional 1/2 cup six to eight weeks later
but not after July 30 in northern areas. Thereafter the trees can
usually be fertilized with ammonium sulfate (or other nitrogen
fertilizer). Apply this in early spring at the rate of about 1.5 cups
per year of tree age. If trees are growing in an orchard where the
ground is cultivated or mulched, the fertilizer should be broadcast over
the entire root area. If trees are growing in a lawn or ornamental
garden area, however, the heavy applications of fertilizer required for
the mature trees would probably kill the grass and other small plants if
it were broadcast. So you should place it in holes made with a crowbar
at 2’ intervals throughout the root zone.
Nuts are ready for harvesting when the husks loose their bright
green color and open at the tips. The easiest system of harvesting is to
leave the nuts on the tree until they cure and fall naturally. The
alternative is to knock them from the tree with light bamboo poles. They
should be allowed to dry thoroughly before they are placed in sacks.
If you buy a property with an old pecan tree that does not
produce well, you can probably persuade it to mend its ways by pruning
out the dead, damaged, and unnecessary limbs; clearing the ground
underneath and applying a heavy dose of fertilizer; and watering well.
If Spanish moss infests the tree, it should be removed by spraying with
copper sulfate. Don’t expect an immediate hugh crop of nuts, however:
you will probably have to continue this treatment for a couple of years.
|
