“Emma K produced a good crop, but the nuts are difficult to de-husk.”
The only black walnuts I have de-husked so far are the native ones. Are the Emma Ks as difficult as those?
I’ll have to give a different comparison than vs native walnuts. Thomas and Neel #1 both fall free of the husk with relatively little tissue attachment to the shell. Emma K has sharp ridges on the shell with husk tissue firmly attached to them. A tire type husker crushes the husk on Neel #1 and Thomas and the husk separates from the nut with the exception of some tissue at the base of the nut. Emma K has tissue attached all over the surface of the nut. If you use a pressure washer, the tissue can be removed fairly easily from Thomas and Neel #1 but it takes several minutes to force out the tissue in the crevices of Emma K.
I’ve had good results using pressurized water to wash walnuts once the husks are removed. One of these days I’ll design a pressure washing system to clean my walnuts.
BambooMan, I don’t know for sure how Thomas and Neel #1 would do in your climate. Growing them would be the best way to find out. Do some due diligence re Farrington which is another decent walnut that appears to like a long growing season.
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Can any translate this?
I emailed Stark Bros this question. Can you give me more information on your Black Walnut Black Gem tree. Can you tell me what it is crossed with genetically? What are its parents?
Their response:
Thank you for your inquiry. The Stark Black Gem Walnut tree:
Genus: Juglans Species: nigra Cultivar: Wilson
So a Stark Black Walnut Black Gem is a seedling from a Wilson named variety. Is this safe to assume?
The translation is that Stark Black Gem is the Stark marketing name for the Wilson cultivar. It is not a seedling of Wilson, it is Wilson.
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Gotcha, thanks. I guess that was kind of obvious. It begs the question though, why not just call it a Wilson? Yeah I get it, marketing etc.
Update #1 And after searching the internet for hours I can’t find a single bit of literature regarding a “Wilson” Black Walnut variety.
Update #2 I pressed Starks for more info. This was their response. 
I’m growing Placentia …
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Looking good. I saw that earlier in the year Richard. How long until it is expected to produce?
I might get a few next year.
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@Fusion_power, @Lucky_P, @Barkslip,
Hoping for some advice on grafting strategies for bw and wondering if bench grafting is a possibility? Most info I’ve been able to glean has shown grafting done in the field.
I am considering buying in some barefoot stock to play with, mostly because I don’t want to wait on the seed I gathered before trying my hand at grafting these…thanks!
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I found a pretty detailed video on YouTube which detailed bench grafting black walnuts using an omega grafting tool, full waxing of scion and graft union, heating the grafts at 80F for 3 weeks while fully bedded in damp meduim, and then the guy says only 50% take!
I am guessing that top working trees is a bit easier?
Still thinking about getting some bare root trees just to try if folks think it is doable, any tips would be welcome.
I’ve only ever grafted BWs in the field, on established rootstock.
Most of my successes (I have a harder time getting takes of walnut than I do pecan/hickory) have been with a modified bark graft - similar to this one, demonstrated by Dr. Bill Reid:
Only difference is that instead of totally beheading the rootstock, I just cut about 3/4 of the way through and break the top over, leaving it attached as a ‘sap-drawer’ of sorts… diminished the problem of excessive bleeding, which is my biggest problem grafting walnuts in spring.
I’ve (recently) had decent success doing a whip & tongue graft with dormant pecan scions on dormant understock, in March, before budbreak; might work for walnuts as well - and if you’re using potted-up bareroot rootstocks, it would certainly be worth a try.
I’ve never used a callusing tube… have no experience with those.
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Go for it Jesse. Get your seedlings from Missouri’s State Nursery (great size, better price.) You can get 25 seedlings for 10 bucks I think. 10 seedlings for 8 bucks; and so on.
Get something tall like a kitchen trash can and warm them up for a 1.5 months or whenever they begin to break bud and remove them and graft them rolling the roots up in a moist towel and transfer them back into the tall kitchen garbage can. Use promix.
If you’re able to bury the graft union all the better, otherwise, they’ll be fine above the media. Be sure the scions are waxed/taped and put a piece of clear poly over everything and tuck it under the garbage can. Make sure the promix is moist but not damp. Provide as much sun as possible.
Large water droplets under the poly should be wiped off. A mist on the poly is perfect. Forget about a heat mat because the time it takes for the rootstocks to begin to swell bud and then after you graft for them to knit always dries the soil bone dry at the bottom of containers.
Pile the promix as high as you can to try to get the unions buried.
There’s a good start for you.
Dax
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Thanks for the encouragement, down the rabbit hole I go…put in my order with Missouri State Nursery for a bundle of bw.
Now to find scion wood of the varieties recommended to me- McGinnis, Burns, Weschke, Sparrow, Sparks 127, Emma K, are on my radar.
Found this source which carries a few of them-
http://www.risingcreeknursery.com/?page_id=32
any other suggestions for sourcing scionwood?
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I use an inlay side graft on black walnut with outstanding results. It works so well that I gave up on all other grafting methods for walnut. Start with a walnut seedling between 1 and 5 inches diameter. 2 inches dia. works best. When the tree starts actively growing in the spring and has shoots about 2 inches long, cut a scion about 6 inches long, slice with a 2 inch face, and cut a notch in the side of the tree with a bark flap at the bottom. Nail the scion into place with 2 wire nails with the bottom nail through the flap. Wax into place. This method easily gives 90% success and usually much higher.
Wait 2 weeks, then cut the top off the tree. The scion should have callused in by then and will immediately start growing. Most of the time, the buds break before I cut off the top.
If you can’t find the other varieties, let me know in January. I can cut a few scions. I don’t have Burns or Weschke. Rhora may have them.
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Jesse, I should be able to help with Sparrow, Emma K, and Sparks 127. Before you buy any wood, send a message to me. @Fusion_power may have them as well, and I’m sure we’re both certainly here to help.
Those Missouri rootstocks will be 3/8" and larger. They’re stuff is beautiful. You’ll get 2.5’ seedlings or taller.
Dax
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I got out a few walnuts and cracked them today.
Cranz is a small nut on a productive tree that matures relatively long season. I think it would be best adapted from Iowa south to the gulf coast. The kernels are rounded which lends to easy cracking. My only complaint is that I like slightly larger nuts. Cranz should fit in very well with Sparks 127, McGinnis, and Sparrow in Iowa and similar midwestern climates. The only disparity is that McGinnis matures 3 weeks before Cranz which means separate harvest would be required.
Farrington was as I remember it, a large nut that cracks fairly easy. Eating quality is very good. The trees are moderately productive and have made a crop every year for at least the last 6 years. I’m adding this one to my short list of varieties that are good enough to propagate commercially here in the deep South.
Thomas is a medium large nut with excellent quality from trees that are highly productive. I rank Thomas as an outstanding walnut. Hands down, it is the best of the old vairieties. Only Neel #1 IMO ranks as good as or slightly better than Thomas.
Neel #1 is a large nut with excellent quality from trees that are very productive. This is an outstandingly good nut. The only flaw I’ve found with Neel #1 is that it tends to darken if left in the husk too long. Maturity is about a week earlier than Thomas. I could easily harvest Farrington, Thomas, and Neel #1 at the same time.
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Hey @Lucky_P is the main reason to dormant graft pecans for convenience? A lot of people suggest grafting pecan after some leaf development. Do you find you have better success dormant grafting pecan using a whip and tongue graft? These questions are in reference to smaller diameter root stock, approximately 3/8 inch or so.
Thanks so much.
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My research into grafting these makes much reference to waxing the scion and graft union, any reason why wrapping with parafilm wouldn’t work just as well? I figure that after I graft I will just bring the enclosed bucket of bench grafts in damp medium up into my living space for heat to aid callusing.
Active growth = sap run flooding graft union, so preventative steps seem to be needed if grafting after bud break. Heading the stock ahead of time, ringing or partially ringing below the graft, and leaving some or all of the growth above mentioned graft are all measures I have read about. I do wonder how necessary any of those are when bench grafting onto a severed root system.
Then there’s the carpentry- whip and tongue, inlay, three or four flap…which would perform best in my situation of bench grafting barefoot stock?
Thanks for any insights, grafting nut trees is a whole new world for me!
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I’ve done some three flap grafts (including some successes with black walnuts), and I can’t see doing three flap grafts with bareroot stock. The bark has to be slipping in order to peel the flaps back.
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I found this grafting guide helpful…will put it to the test in spring '18.
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-105.html