I have a wallnut tree that is probably about 15 years old. The problem is that the male flowers drop off before the female flowers develop. Therefore, I suspect there is no pollination taking place, so no nuts. I was under the impression that a tree with both male and female flowers should be able to produce without any other trees in the area. There is a small Gall Mite problem going on too, but I have read that this should not cause the tree a lot of stress. If anyone can give me advice, I would appreciate it..tanks.Jay
I don't know much about walnuts, but I did read recently that it's usual for the male flowers to drop off before the female flowers develop so that the tree will not self-pollinate. I've seen two kinds of walnuts this year with both male and female flowers, but they weren't the species that we eat.
Yep - Walnuts are outcrossing, and won't self-pollinate. You need at least two (preferably several) of different clones/cultivars to get successful pollination and nut development.
I live in South Burnaby and I started my Walnut tree from a single Walnut 10 years ago. It is now over 25 feet tall and it fruits like crazy. However, I don't get to many since my neighborhood is full squirrels. I am not sure if there are any Walnut trees in the area but I always assumed that it is self-pollinating maybe?
I would be very surprised if there were not several other walnut trees in your area. I wonder how close they have to be.
Thanks for your comments everyone. It has been a long time since I posted my question and I should update this post. My walnut has been producing for at least a couple of years now. It may be that it had to mature a bit more. As far as I know, there is no other tree close by. Like some of the other people on this forum, I too give up some of my harvest to squirrels and sometimes the bear comes looking too, but the harvest seems to improve every year. thanks, J
