Football Copse Nuttery

All these nut trees are part of the walnut family. They are all propagated vegetatively by grafting fruiting scions of known cultivars onto seedling rootstocks of the same species. This produces a more reliable, earlier fruiting tree. Unlike trees raised from nut, which are unreliable in terms of nut production and quality, and take many years to reach nut bearing age, grafted trees always come true to form and begin cropping at a young age. In order to facilitate pollination, it is advisable to plant more than one cultivar. Hickories and hicans are mutually pollinating. They were all the gift of Clive Simms, a nurseryman from Essendine.

 

1 European Walnut (Juglans Regia var. Wunder von Mon repos)

 

The European walnut is a slow growing, medium to large tree native to a wide belt of Asia stretching from the Balkans to China. The largest forests are found in the mountains of Jalal-Abad province of Kyrgyzstan. The first historical account of walnut cultivation dates back to Babylon (now Iraq) circa 2000 B.C. However, archaeological excavation of Neolithic sites in south-west France has uncovered roasted walnut shells, indicating walnuts were being eaten in Europe at least 8000 years ago.

 

Walnuts are among the most nutritious of all nuts. All walnuts can be eaten on their own (raw, toasted or pickled), or as part of a mix such as muesli, or as an ingredient of soups, pies, cakes, vegiburgers, biscuits. They are often candied, or pickled (when picked early in June). Pickled walnuts that are the whole fruit can be savoury or sweet depending on the preserving solution. Immature walnuts are pickled in June. The kernel also yields a clear sweet oil used in cooking. Walnuts produce a growth inhibitor called juglone in both leaves and roots. It may have a detrimental effect on some other species of plant growing nearby. The green husk of the seed also produces a strong brown dye which stains the hands for a long time.

 

The variety Wunder von Monrepos is late leafing with many big nuts and hardiness against disease.

 

2 Pecan (Carya illinoensis var. Deerstand)

 

The pecan is member of the hickory family. It is an extremely slow-growing species, it takes years to establish the massive root system it needs before it can begin to grow wood and may take five to 10 years to bear nuts. The trees can live 130 years or more and grow 90 feet tall and very wide. Pecan trees originated in Texas through Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in North America. Unlike walnuts and hickories, the husks, or shucks, split and dry on their own once the first freeze hits them.

 

Seeds of the pecan are edible, with a rich, buttery flavour. They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking, particularly in sweet desserts, such as pecan pie, a traditional Southern U.S. dish.

 

3 Hican (Carya illinoensis x ovata)

 

Hicans are a hybrid between the pecan (Carya illinoensis) and the shagbark hickory (Carya Ovata). They combine the flavour of the pecan and hardiness of the hickory. Hicans occur naturally in the wild in the eastern United states where both pecans and hickory occupy the same forests.

This is a naturally-occurring hybrid between a shagbark hickory and a pecan. It tastes like a combination of the two and has a more-easily cracked shell than hickories. Hican trees can grow to 60 feet and may take up to ten years to produce a crop.

They tend to be more of a novelty than a good nut-producing tree. The trees usually do not produce large crops. Often the nuts are quite large but have a very thick shell and poor kernel quality.

 

4 Shagbark Hickory (Carya Ovata var. Sinking Fork)

​

The shagbark hickory is from eastern North America, ranging from southern Canada to northern Mexico. They are slow-growing trees that may take decades to bear nuts but can live for centuries. Grafted hickory varieties may yield more reliable but not faster nut production. Hickory trees need a very long taproot before they can begin producing nuts. There are about ten different hickory species, of which the shagbark hickory has shown the greatest potential for nut production. They will do best on dry warm sites. Hickories are very cold-hardy, adapt well to disturbed areas and tolerate poor soils. The trees grow to about 60 feet tall.

 

They produce small, sweet nuts within extremely sturdy shells. The nuts are edible with an excellent flavour, and are a popular food among people and squirrels alike.

 

5 Heartnut (Juglans Ailantifolia var. Stealth)

and

6 Heartnut (Juglans Ailantifolia var. Rhodes)

 

The heartnut or Japanese walnut grows into an impressive medium sized tree with incredible leaves that may be up to 1m long. It fruits with long pendulous strings of nuts. Like the pecans and hickories they are relatively uncommon in Europe. They are more vigorous than walnuts, less prone to disease and more tolerant of wet climates. They leaf relatively early and will not thrive in a frosty site. They have the potential to do very well in the UK.

 

The heart-shaped nuts are sweet with a taste that is midway between a walnut and pecan. They have a reputation for being hard to shell, but these two cultivars have improved shelling capability.