Nut trees & Pawpaws

Nut Trees & Pawpaws

Permaculture-based consulting, education

and stock for today’s homesteader

Nut-bearing Trees/Shrubs:

Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollisima): These beautiful spreading trees produce loads of large nuts at a younger age than most nut trees. Leaves glossy green. Beware the husks which are incredibly spiny (like a sea urchin), use gloves to get out any nuts that don’t drop free. But slice a cross in the hull, roast over a fire, peel and dip in melted butter—you’ll have a treat that will warm you up quick on cool fall/winter evenings! Unique for their starchiness amongst nuts—a tree-based carbohydrate source. Immune to chestnut blight. Prefers acidic soils—never put lime around a chestnut tree! Plant two for pollination. Full to part sun; Zone 4-8. Height 30-50’ gallon pots $12; two-gallon pots $22

Eastern Hazelnut (Corylus americana): A lovely landscape accent plant or hedge that also bears prolific crops of nuts. Since these are wild seedlings, the nuts are small compared to the improved filberts and the shells thicker. Nuts about the size of a pea when shelled out but very tasty and sweet! Plants are a little slow to get going but really take off after their second year in the ground. Shrubby growth gets 6-8’ tall with equal spread. Fall foliage is stunning with colors all over the spectrum. Showy male catkins in the winter and spring. Immune to Eastern Filbert Blight. Plant two for pollination. Can take shade to full sun. Space 4-8’ apart. Quart pots $6; gallon pots $12

English Walnut (Juglans regia): Sometimes known as Carpathian walnuts, these are seedlings that have good cold hardiness. While not quite as large as grafted varieties, they come pretty close and are easy to grow. More upright growth than heartnut with beautiful smooth white bark! Can sometimes have pest issues on the nuts but often have plenty of unharmed nuts to supply your winter pantry. Full to part sun; Zone 4-8. Height 30-40’ Quart pots $6; gal pots $12; two-gallon pots $22

New!Northern Pecan (Carya illinoisensis): Pecans can be successfully grown in the North. These are wild-type seedlings from trees in Kansas and Kentucky. Smaller nuts than the Georgia papershell pecans, but still an amazing amount of nutmeat in very easy to crack shells. Need 2 for pollination. Height 30-50’ by 25-35’ wide. Should have no hardiness problems into zone 5. North of that, plant at your own risk! Quart pots $6; gallon pots $12

Heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia): After trying my first heartnuts straight from the tree at a local Amish farm, I was impressed! I lightly brushed off the husk, tapped the shell with my pocketknife on a fencepost and “ding!” the shell came apart in halves and the whole heart-shaped nut fell out intact. Add to this the flavor that was like a sweeter cross between English/black walnuts and you get one incredible nut! Anyone who has dealt with the difficulty of black walnut processing will love this change of pace. Heartnuts are smaller trees, spreading more to make an attractive yard tree with white bark like English walnuts. I’ve seen a few plants at various spots and they are all growing incredibly fast, putting on 4’ a year. Somewhat self-fertile. Seedlings are variable in nut size and may not be a true heart-shape. Full to part sun; Zone 5-8. Height 30’ Not Available in 2013

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): The largest native North American edible fruit! This northernmost member of the tropical custard apple family (cherimoya, guayabana) has great potential for landscape and orchard use in the Midwest. Very shade tolerant, where it still will produce, but it gets positively loaded like a peach tree if grown in full sun. Custard-like fruits have the texture of an avocado with flavors ranging from caramel, banana to mango. Pawpaw fruits contain a strong anti-tumor compound. Extract made from the bark is a strong, broad-spectrum insecticide (thus it has no real pests, except the zebra swallowtail butterfly larvae feed on this plant). Need two for pollination; plant 8-15’ apart. Height to 25’. Seedlings in Gallon Pots for $12 and Two-Gallon pots for $22. We also have a few improved varieties (grafted) available in Two-Gallon Pots for $26 (Sunflower, Mango, possibly: PA Golden #1, Wells).

We do not ship plants. To reserve plants please either call us at 812-723-5259 or email us, and schedule an appointment to pick them up. We can also DELIVER for a fee to our general region.

Apples, Pears & Peaches, Cherries & Plums, Edible Landscaping, Berries, Grapes & Kiwis, Hardy Figs & Mulberries, Nut Trees & Pawpaws, Tree Guilds