Five Year Native Tree Challenge: Gabler’s Black Walnut

[Gabler]

Ordinarily black walnuts make terrible bonsai, since ramification isn’t remotely possible, but it occurred to me that it won’t matter much in a five-year tree challenge. Nobody will have any ramification. Might as well give it a try, right?

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

A three-year-old tree that sprouted there on its own from seed. They pop up all over the place at my parents’ house.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Awesome!

I’ve got one of these mother-jammers, as well. I’m documenting it in another thread.. but I will take “fresh” pictures tomorrow... your bark is much more interesting than mine..


(In design, plan for /anticipate a larger-sized finished tree. These guys are SOMEWHAT rough to scale down)

 

[HorseloverFat]

Here she “blows”.... the soil WAS almost to the lip.. but the container was positioned underneath a gutter after I “snugged them in”... i will have to repot DEEPER in spring.. to encourage more filling out of that radial root spread. ...it’ll take a while.

 

[Gabler]

Here she “blows”.... the soil WAS almost to the lip.. but the container was positioned underneath a gutter after I “snugged them in”... i will have to repot DEEPER in spring.. to encourage more filling out of that radial root spread. ...it’ll take a while.

At this point, I just plant all my trees too deep with the expectation that the soil will settle and the roots will push the tree up as they fill the pot. Sometimes it works, and sometimes the nebari are slightly hidden.

 

[HorseloverFat]

At this point, I just plant all my trees too deep with the expectation that the soil will settle and the roots will push the tree up as they fill the pot. Sometimes it works, and sometimes the nebari are slightly hidden.

Hehe.. that was my FIRST goal, too.. .

At least now I know where NOT to put pots

 

[Gabler]

Oof. I hear you.

Hehe.. that was my FIRST goal, too.. .

At least now I know where NOT to put pots

 

[Gabler]

I collected the tree today. I had to use a tractor to pull up the deep tap root, since the shovel and pick-axe weren't effective at cutting through it. I cut the long tap root off, leaving most of the radial roots, and then I put the tree in a box with pumice, sphagnum moss, sphagnum peat, and vermiculite (to help wet the dried, compacted peat). Lastly I chopped and sealed the trunk a half inch above a small, visible bud and also about six inches above another slightly smaller visible bud.

 

[Gabler]

It's hard to see but the bud under the chop is definitely starting to swell a bit.

 

[Gabler]

 

[LittleDingus]

I'm really interested to see where you go with this one!

Ramification is the least of your problems! Leaves that can reach 20" long with 8-10 pairs of leaflets will be an interesting challenge to style too

I love black walnut though...I can smell the husks just sitting here looking at your tree

Mostly joking, but I wonder if you can get enough leaves to originate at the same level to style it like a palm tree...with very unusual bark!

On the more serious side...I really do want to watch this one and see what you can make of it I almost tried to collect a shag bark hickory which has many of the same liabilities as black walnut...plus the potential for great big knots of thorns!

 

[Gabler]

I'm really interested to see where you go with this one!

Ramification is the least of your problems! Leaves that can reach 20" long with 8-10 pairs of leaflets will be an interesting challenge to style too

I love black walnut though...I can smell the husks just sitting here looking at your tree

Mostly joking, but I wonder if you can get enough leaves to originate at the same level to style it like a palm tree...with very unusual bark!

On the more serious side...I really do want to watch this one and see what you can make of it I almost tried to collect a shag bark hickory which has many of the same liabilities as black walnut...plus the potential for great big knots of thorns!

That’s sort of the goal. Usually, the prime time for deciduous trees seems to be winter, when you can enjoy the ramification, but the leaves are so long, I plan to use them like branches. The tree will look sparse come winter, but have large, layered “pads” in the summer, and the delicate “branching” should contrast nicely with the coarse, twisted bark pattern. I might not have a traditional show tree, but I fully expect that I’ll have something pretty to look at.

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

A slow start, but growth is accelerating.

 

[Gabler]

Not the strongest grower, but that’s also unsurprising, given the size of the taproot I removed.

 

[Gabler]

Healthy buds.

 

[Gabler]

Walnuts are always amongst the last trees to leaf out.

 

[ERClover]

How’s this doing?