Harvesting Heartnuts (Juglans ailantifolia)

What an interesting blog Radgal.I’ve never heard of these nuts before.Thanks for sharing them with us.And what a huge tree that is.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

I never heard of this kind of nut. It resembles a hickory nut, from your pictures. And sounds like the same kind of mild flavour. Thanks for sharing this info with us. Do they grow naturely in your area?

We used to gather hickory nuts with my Dad when i was a child. And like your children, we loved to crack them with a hammer and eat them raw. Even with squashed thumbs. LOL

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Bon, the tree does grow quite large. If you are planting two, they recommend placing them 100 feet (30 meters) apart. Unfortunately, the previous owners who planted the tree placed it only a few meters away from the house. We are keeping it trimmed but there will probably come a day when it will have to be removed to protect the house.

Iris, heartnut trees are not native to this area but they grow well where butternut trees grow and butternuts are native to our area. Unfortunately, all the native butternuts are dying from a canker. From what I have read on the internet, heartnut trees grow well in rich, moist soil and in sheltered areas with high water tables. Zone 6 seems to be their preferred hardiness zone. Although they can grow in colder areas, late frosts in April and May can kill their blossoms and they will produce less/no fruit. Our tree is protected on the north side by the house and enjoys a sunny southern exposure. We haven’t noticed any problem with late frosts since we moved here.

A finger food that involves a hammer, every child’s dream! As you know first-hand, thumbs heal and the wonderful memories remain.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

lovely, and lucky…..

-- south shore montreal, zone 5a, whish it was 9

Thanks for introduving us to a new nut. You are so lucky to have this tree in your premises. Generall ynuts are more tasty after roasting. They appear to be nutritionaly good as well. Good photos. How do you harvest the nuts on such a big tree? Are they allowed to fall down naturally and then collected?
Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

We let them fall from the tree naturally and then collect them. The nuts fall over a period of one or two months and we have to pick them up quickly to beat the squirrels and chipmunks.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

I have seedlings (that’s what the deer kept digging up last spring!)
and my brother has a “field” of trees.
Can’t wait to get a bucket full of nuts!

thanks for the blog

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I’ve never heard of that.

-- Father of two boys. Both Eagle Scouts.

Firecaster, these trees will grow in hardiness zone 7, if you have the room for them. I could send you some nuts to try to grow. The seedlings grow like crazy around here each spring because the squirrels hide them all over and then forget them. However, my understanding is that it is not a stable cultivar and the seedlings might revert back to a Japanese walnut. To be sure to get a heartnut tree, you need to graft it onto a walnut stock.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

i wonder if the tree would be valuable as lumber. most other walnut trees produce valuable lumber. Maybe this would be the same. Might be worth considering if you were to ever have the tree removed.

HokieMojo, you are absolutely right. My husband is the woodworker in the family and I think he already has his eye on the tree, especially the trunk! Similar to the wood of the butternut, heartnut wood is supposed to be good for furniture making and fine woodworking projects. As the family gardener, however, I prefer to let it live as long as possible…

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

I agree. Let it go and when it’s time comes, it can have a second life!