Can anyone tell me if walnut, pecan, almond, and gingko trees do well together? I have read to plant almond trees with peach trees. I have some plum, cherry, and apple trees. Any suggestions on placement of the nuts? Thanks a bunch !
They won't have any trouble growing on the same property, as long as the site has suitable soil, exposure and climate for each kind, but you may not be able to layer them successfully, with the small ones in the shade of the tall ones. Proabably better to put the walnuts, pecans and ginkgoes where they can stretch out without overtopping the others.
Ginkgoes are slow, walnuts fast. All of these make large trees. If you are there long enough the walnuts may become crowded even with a 30' spacing. As with other planting, spacing is partly determined by what time frame you are planning for. If you are wishing and able to space them for ultimate possible development, assuming that they will do at least as well there as some in my state have done, then here are some representative dimensions (last dimension of each is crown spread): Ginkgo 70' x 12'6" x 56' 86' x 3'5" x 21' Pecan 120' x 10'11" x 76' Walnut, Black 95' x 19'2" x 119' 112' x 8'8" x 78' Walnut, English 76' x 12'5" x 83' 68' x 12'4" x 72' 82' x 10'8" x 63' 66' x 11'7" x 91'
Dwarf nut trees? Is there any parallel to apple trees here? We have apple options ranging from full size thru semi-dwarf and dwarf with the smallest looking like tomato plants.
Long term it might be a mistake to plant an Almond or a Ginkgo within a 30' lateral side of an English Walnut, a Black Walnut or a Pecan either, unless you want to continually prune the canopy of both of the Walnuts and the Pecan. Pecans are easier to deal with than Walnuts are for shaping them and controlling the growth. In bare ground it is the Juglans emitted from the roots of both Walnuts and the Pecan that will cause the most trouble for the Ginkgo but it will be the tannins emitted from the leaves once they become wet that will be more harmful to the Almond. If you must plant an Almond or a Ginkgo near a Walnut or a Pecan plant them North or South, not East or West of the Pecan and the Walnuts. As a general rule: Plant Walnuts, Pecans, Chestnuts, Filberts and Pistachios together with 20-30' spacings. Plant Almonds, Apples, Pears, Asian Pears, Peaches, Nectarines, Cherries, Apricots, Plums, Persimmons and Pomegranates together with 15-20' spacings. On dwarfing rootstock the 20' spacings for the Pomes and the Stone Fruits can be cut in half. Almonds are generally grafted on Titan or its derivative rootstock which is an Almond understock. The old 60's and 70's Almond understock was Peach and Nectarine rootstock such as Nemaguard and Nemared. I've grown Almonds, Cherries, Peaches and Plums in close proximity to Pecans and Walnuts but I will not recommend others doing that unless they have some experience growing these trees and know what the mature sizes of these trees will eventually be. Ginkgoes will be your the tougher tree to grow as they do much better planted far away from any tannin or Juglans producing tree. Most Ginkgoes are notorious slow growers, even planted in well watered lawn and garden settings here. If Ginkgoes can get a lot of marine air, or lots of moisture from high humidity, they will grow much better than in dry, less humid climates but they are better grown almost solitary, away from most any root invasive tree. Jim
Many Thanks ! Okay, thanks to all of you, I've made the decision. I'll plant the pecans about 150' from the Gingko and the Walnut far away from either. After planting the Gingko, I mowed some brush and discovered a little mimosa about 15-20' from the Gingko. I want to keep it and think it to be no problem since the Gingkos are so slow-growing, the mimosa not very large and short-lived (relatively speaking). Any thoughts on this? Ralph, no connection to the apple, I just threw that in in case anyone had suggestions as to placement relative to them. Thank you, Jim, for the time you took for all the details (I'm saving it). And thank you, Ron, for your interest and help to everyone here. And, I think the trees will definitely outlive me and grow much after I'm gone (I'm 55), but wouldn't it be nice for the next generations to have them right - that's just assuming no "progress" takes place <grin> -patty
Dimension query Ron, thanks also for the dimensions, but I'm very new to this and totally un-instructed. Could you identify the other dimensions as well please? I think I've got the first number (height ?) but what is the much smaller middle number?
Hi Ralph: Ultimate sizing for Fruit & Nuts trees depends entirely on the variety, envinronmental and climatic factors and in some cases the rootstock used to graft onto. Choctaw and Cherokee Pecans do not grow the same size and shape as a Mahan, Mohawk and Texan Mahan will. The Choctaw, for example will be shorter and wider in its lower growth, all things being equal, than a Texas Mahan will. The Texas Mahan will be taller and wider, have fuller growth in the middle of the tree upwards and is a much more round headed tree than a Choctaw. I've used both in landscape plantings and in home gardens and I will plant these side by side with the Choctaw planted into the prevailing wind with the Texas Mahan 25-30' East or in certain cases South of the Choctaw. For Walnuts a Franquette will not grow as large as a Howard or a Chandler will. There the height difference can be as much as 35' for the Franquette and the Chandler in the right location can get upwards of 60' tall. We can always prune these trees to size and shape them to the height that we want them to grow. Generally, in commercial orchards Walnuts, regardless of variety grown, will have their canopies thinned to open up more light into the center of the tree every three years or so and to prune some of the rangier side branching to allow better air movement from tree to tree as well as let in more light in an orchard. Commercial Orchards that did not plan their spacings well in relation to the varieties they are growing are constantly pruning their trees. I know of a grower two miles away from me here that got so tired of pruning his Payne's and Zulu orchards every year that five years ago he pulled out every other tree in those orchards. Then again he planted them 15' apart and last year again pulled out every other tree to yield what his spacings should have been at the beginning. Knowing the ultimate size of the tree, left alone, is rather important but knowing the eventual shape of the tree is far more important to me. It is not the height that will determine planting spacings in most cases but the overall spread of the tree and whether we plan to prune the tree or trees that will better determine what our planting spacings will be. Yes, indeed with some Walnuts 30' spacings will not be enough room as the lateral side branching of the trees may grow into each other. So, we should have an idea as to what we want from the tree before we designate a spacing for other accompanying trees. Most Walnuts and several Pecans can be grown singly without a pollinizer but we generally plant these in two's to better ensure a decent crop. For a home garden planting in two's is not necessary for Walnuts and several Pecans as we can get an adequate crop from just one tree but it will depend on the varieties grown as a Mohawk Pecan will generally produce more nuts by its lonesome that a Choctaw, Cherokee and the Mahans will grown singly by themselves. Franquettes and Chandlers will generally produce more Walnuts grown by themselves than a Howard, Payne, Zulu and the old standard commercial Walnut for us, Hartley, will. The Carpathian or Hardy Persian Walnuts such as Ambassador, Russian, Cascade, Hansen and Somers are the hardiest of the Walnuts and should be able to withstand Zone 1-3 cold temps. Pawnee, Wichita and Mohawk are the preferred Pecans for the cooler Zones 2-3. Jim
