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Juglans nigra

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

Black Walnut or American Walnut is a large tree of central and eastern North America which can grow well over 100 feet, but which averages fifty to seventy five feet. The trunk is straight and the crown is broad and spreading. This tree is treasured for its beauty and is grown simply as an ornamental, but even more for its edible nuts and for the quality of its wood. It is considered a pioneer species, and is shade intolerant, requiring full sun for optimal development. It favors moist habitats, and occurs along streams, floodplains and in woodlands, but is not happy in either standing water or dry, sandy areas — Black Walnut prefers deep, rich, well-drained soils. Total lifespan of Black Walnut is about 130 years. Planting a Walnut tree is an investment in the future, as the wood of a mature tree is so valuable. (Wikipedia reports a tree-poaching case, involving a 55-foot tree worth US$2,500). The wood is a favorite for cabinets, furniture, and even guns as it is hard, heavy, straight-grained, strong, shock resistant and yet can be easily split and worked. In the landscape (before harvesting!) the nuts are a food source for both humans and animals, such as squirrels, mice, and other wildlife. There are cultivars of Black Walnut developed for timber and others for seed production and still others for both. Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Key Info

Common Names: Black Walnut, Eastern Black Walnut
Family Names:
Plant Type:
Light Requirement:
Moisture Requirement: ,
Leaf Retention:
Bloom Times: ,
Flower Color: Yellow green
Special Characteristics: , , ,

Additional Info

Habit: Tree with wide, rounded crown, a tall and straight trunk, usualy without branches on the lower portion; dark colored, ridged, sharply furrowed bark with diamnd-shaped pattern; deep tap root.
Height: 50' to 75' up to 150'
Spread: up to 100'
Soil Conditions: Moist well drained; tolerates wide range of pH but prefers circumneutral pH; sandy loam, loam, or silt loam or clay loam.
Leaves: Alternate, odd-pinnate or even-pinnate compound leaves are up to 24 inches long, each with 13-23 oblong to lance-shaped leaflets 3-4 inches long and about 1 inch across, dark green, and pubescent beneath. The leaflets have serrated margins, a rounded base and a long pointed tip. Leaves are late to emerge in spring and early to drop in fall; strongly aromatic when crushed; an unremarkable yellow in fall.
Flowers (or reproductive structures: Flowering is monoecious, the male flowers in drooping, hairy catkins 3-5 inches long borne from axillary buds on the previous year's growth; the female flowers in short terminal spikes in clusters of two to five on the current year's growth. The female flowers usually appear before the male flowers, making self-pollination unlikely.
Fruit: Female flowers give way to edible nuts (drupes) 2-2.5 inches across, each small, hard seed being enclosed in a somewhat fleshy indehiscent yellow-green husk which slowly blackens after the fruit falls to the ground in October/ November. Kernels are famously difficult to extract from the shell, but yield a sweet, oily meat.
Natural Distribution: Rich moist woods
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FACU (UPL on coast)
Pollination: Wind
Wildlife Connections: Larval host of the Luna moth and the Regal moth. Squirrels are one of the only animals that can gnaw through the seed husk. The nuts are also eaten by a variety of birds. Although not considered a choice browse, black walnut leaves are palatable to white-tailed deer.
Propagation: From seed.