Howdy! Does anyone out there know anything about Japanese heartnuts? What zone they can grow in, the quality of their nuts, different varieties, where one can find them etc etc? --thanks..
listed as zone 4-9............what is your exact zone? available from Gringo Nut Nursery out of Ontario http://grimonut.com/catalog.php?catID=56
. Anyone grow them out in B.C that you know of? Also do they put Juglans in the soil like the Black walnut? thanks
Sorry but you are looking for something "not common" and therefore hard to find.....trust me I know what you are going through. But you could try contacting some of the larger nurseries or garden centers to see if they can special order - either up there or down here - I know that Art's Nursery in Surrey has offered to special order plants for me in the past. If it's any consolation, I have heard good things about Grino Nut and although I have never dealt with them I have had plants and trees shipped from back east and it is not that difficult to do.
I have no experience with them, but the Society of Ontario Nut Growers has a good info page on them. http://www.songonline.ca/nuts/heartnut.htm They say zone 6 for grafted trees. What zone is the Cariboo? Colder than 6 I think. The nursery pmurphy linked to suggests seed grown trees can grow in colder climates, but you don't really know what you will get from seed. The article from SONG suggests that the regular Juglans ailantifolia may be hardier than the Juglans ailantifolia var. cordiformis.
The cariboo varies depending one where you are zone 3-4 is average, but there are some areas that can get pretty warm near the fraser river, and is basically desert. I am sure that hardiness can vary depending on the different cultivar too. Sometimes I find it frustrating to have one person tell me that a certain plant is a zone 3 and then a different person tell me it is a zone 5. I spoke to one nursery person concerning Carpathian trees and was told it was a zone 4, and another told me it was a zone 5. I ask her what the cultivar was, and she had never heard of Carpathians having different cultivars, and the tag on the trees never said, so there you go..... At this time I am trying to decide Carpathian versus Heartnut, but when neither one is common and not alot of people know much about them it can be frustrating....
I have them in BC zone 5-6 and they are hardier (in my personal experience) than the hardy pecans, and regular walnuts. They've become somewhat naturalized around here actually and I would definitely suggest trying them out. The only place I've seen them available aside form digging up seedlings here, is www.grimonut.com
I see Cedar Rim in Langley has Juglans regia/Carpathian walnut listed on their website as well as Juglans ailantifolia/heartnut listed but no info on this one so I am not sure if they have or can get (they also have the hardy almonds with no info/picture but I know for a fact that they have them).........Cedar Rim tends to have the "unusual" available and their stock is really good - I got my medlar tree from them http://www.cedarrim.com/store/guides/fruit-trees/ (go to the bottom of the page to see)
They are fast growing and nice-looking. Aside from potential hardiness issues in your locale, the main thing with Heartnuts is that when grown as seedlings (as opposed to grafted), variability in nut quality is especially high. Sometimes you get nice sized, easily cracked nuts, other times small and hard shelled. That said, I grow and sell a bunch of different kinds of nuts, heartnuts included, and can ship within BC. These are seedlings, though, so the above mentioned issue with variability applies. If you're interested, you can P.M. me for details. Otherwise, I'll second/third Ernie Grimo (Grimo nut) as an excellent source for grafted selections.
Hi, Just returned from Cedar Rim and they have about half a dozen heartnuts in stock, about 6ft tall and nicely leafed out; 3 gallon pot for $39.99 - I debated about getting one but stuck with my persimmon. Good luck
Tree Nut thanks for the info..the thing is sometimes there are cultivars within a type of tree specie that is more hardy than others. Take for example we have semi-dwarf apple trees that grow here usually without problems ( zone 3) where other types would crash.I am hoping to find nut varieties / cultivars that can handle our climate, and so far most of the growers are in zone 5 or so. I have had alot of people that say "the book says they can grow in this or that zone" but they have NO hands on experiance. Don't get me wrong one can learn alot from books, but I like to talk to people who have actually grown them in cooler situations. Also, thanks alot for the link, I do plan on checking on it ASAP !
