North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Charles Paradise <machelp@attglobal.net>]

Lon, one of the reasons I went walking towards this vigorous seedling Black
Walnut this morning with saw in hand was exactly the idea of stooling the
Black Walnut when it regrows, which I know it will, since I cut it to the
ground 2 years ago, and it has regrown stronger than ever.  
I'm very interested in the idea of making copies of something with such
enormous vigor.  Vigor in seedlings of almost any fruit or nut tree
has always been a keen interest for me.

I have never understood the wire method.  Does it replace removing a strip of cambium, encouraging callusing and rooting [like in air-layering?]  Is the wire meant to cut through the cambium?

In stooling, would you use a tree tube?  A 5-gallon plastic pail?  What would you recommend?
Charlie Paradise
still Massachusetts zone 5

"Lon J. Rombough" wrote:

If you can bear to cut it off, you could layer the shoots. Stool them, that is, the way apple stocks are layered.  Though you might put a wire around the base of the shoots before you cover them with soil.   That was done with black walnut rootstock in the days of Luther Burbank's "Paradox" hybrids to produce clonal rootstocks.
-Lon Rombough

 

Del you may be lighting a brushfire here - in the seedling vs. clonal debate - just this morning I went with a
bow saw at a black walnut seedling here borne of the Elmer Myers Black Walnut strain.

Observing the extremely straight and exceptionally vigorous growth I hesitated with the bow saw.  I can see
this walnut hitting 20' by August, from the 12' it is now.

I do think we oversell clonal varieties and clonal rootstocks too much.  There are distinct disadvantages to
the clonal approach....and not enough growing from seed.

I don't know what to do about the seedling walnut.  Obviously it'll make a decent saw log in just 10 years vs.
the typical 20.  I've never seen such vigor.   And how-ever can I propagate it if it proves of value for either
timber or for nuts?   Root cuttings?   Is it possible to obtain Black Walnut trees from root cuttings?

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