If you would like to plant a new walnut tree in your garden, you have several options: either plant a tree that has already grown from a specialist shop in the ground or you germinate a fresh walnut and grow your walnut tree in this way. In the following sections you will learn how to germinate a walnut and what to look out for.

The walnut takes a long time to germinate

Germinate walnuts step by step

  1. Fill a sufficiently large planter with high-quality potting soil. Choose a vessel that is at least 40 centimeters deep - after all, the walnut is a taproot.
  2. Get four or five uncracked walnuts. We recommend that you only use fresh, ripe fruit (starting immediately after harvest).
  3. Plant the walnuts about two inches deep in the soil. The tip of the fruit should point downwards.
  4. Place the jar of walnuts in a cool basement or on the balcony. The walnut belongs to the cold or frost germs. They even need cooler temperatures in the first four to six weeks so that germination can occur at all.
  5. Pour the walnuts vigorously. As a result, it is important to keep the soil constantly moist (but not too wet!).
  6. You have to wait a few months for the walnuts to germinate. It's not until spring. Then you will witness a germinating walnut tree.

Note: Walnuts germinate underground. That means the cotyledons and nuts stay in the ground. So don't be alarmed if it takes a while before you can see a change. In technical jargon, there is talk of hypogean germination.

What happens after the walnuts have germinated

Although walnuts are among the frost germs, they are generally sensitive to frost. They first have to develop a certain robustness in order to survive the winter months in the garden. For this reason, you should never place your freshly sprouted walnuts in your green oasis too early. Otherwise the sensitive young tree threatens to freeze to death. So be sure to wait two years before transplanting the tree completely outdoors. But: It can spend the summer months (in its container) in a sunny spot in the garden. It only wants to go back to its frost-free camp in winter.

Category:

Vegetable garden