Black Walnut Grafted to English Walnut Question...

[Schroeder]

Hopefully someone can help me with this question....

West coast - I have a walnut orchard (abandoned for last 10 years) with 100 or so black walnut trees. As I understand the root stock planted some 80 years ago was BW and then an English walnut grafted on to that to produce the orchard. Over the years, the trees appear to have reverted to all Black Walnut. At least that's what they look like, bark, leaves etc...with an occasional limb that is clearly English Walnut.

So I don't want to mill until I have more info on what I'll get ...Does anyone have experience with this sort? Anyone know what kind of lumber to expect from this sort of tree?

(sounds weird I know - but that's what I gots!)

thanks! - Schroeder

[Toller]

It it were properly maintained, the wood is whatever the graft was. But they will frequently send up suckers, and the suckers will be the root stock. The suckers should have been cut down, but if they weren't, they could have taken over.

So, the answer is, who knows.

[nospambob]

Post also to rec.gardens

Toller wrote:

[mike hide]

Why not get in touch with your local forestry agent or at least the county extension service ....

[fredfighter]

I think you have what is called Claro Walnut. DAGS on 'Claro Walnut'.

The trees are biological chimera, organisms with cells from different species -- e.g. 'Frankentrees'.

[fredfighter]

Oh, and I forgot to add, you suck!

[bridger]

you may find that the greatest value is in the root balls. expect the black walnut rooy balls to be wildly figured and huge.

[Andy Dingley]

Strictly it's the root crown (above the root ball itself). The height for felling a walnut is higher than for a typical tree, just so you don't put the chainsaw through the very best part of it. You can lose a _lot_ of the value of a good quality walnut by having it felled by someone who isn't familiar with felling walnuts.

If it's small enough, and you have the space, some people don;t fell them at all but lop the branches, cut the roots and then winch the whole trunk over, root crown and all. This isn't a task for the unskilled or unequipped.

[Swingman]

With an orchard that old, he may be able to retire and cut just one or two a year to feed the shop habit.

That can't be stressed enough to someone who owns an orchard and is not familiar with the economics of figured walnut. I've seen one in the back of a pickup truck going for $3K, and it was small.

[Fly-by-Night CC]

I don't believe it's all that weird. I know a fellow here in Oregon who has a few walnuts left over from an orchard with trees configured just as yours are: American Black Walnut rootstock with English Walnut tops. Only thing is that the tops show a combination of both - most branches appear to leaf out as Black Walnut while a few appear to be English. His trees are about 80-100 years old. I've seen them myself so know it's a true phenomenon.