Mader: Butter nut trees grew in Brown county but do"nt know of any now.

I collected nuts from a tree that looked like it was not effected by butternut canker.I have 7 trees from that batch,One tree from those 7 is growing like crazy W/no sign of cankers.It produced 60 plus nuts in 2006.I collected them plus went back to the original tree and collected 20+ nuts from that tree in 2006, and as luck was on my side found a third tree that showed no sign of cankers and collected well over 100 nuts from that tree.I planted them all in the open areas by burying the nuts 2-3inches deep.

Of those 180+ nuts I hope to get 60-70 trees,and with good luck, some of them may be resistant to butternut canker.

The original 7 trees I grew are about 10 yrs old,with the largest close to 30 ft tall.

There still is a small butternut tree at brown counties extension office. I worked there last summer.

And, here on campus is southern wisconsin, we have a fairly good sized butternut tree.

2 yrs ago I was in contact with the man [forget his name]who is head of the program to find canker resistant butternut.I offered my trees for testing.
I was told they have a fair number of resistant parent trees for a breeding program.He said I should keep planting butternut anyways to keep genetic diversity going in my area.
He sent me info on what they know so far,and it seem'sthere is a strain of butternut with rough bark as a sapling.These are the ones that show resistance more often.

Of those 7 ten yr old trees 1 of them has rough bark.
This is not proof of resistance,but if anyone is willing to plant a few I would give them nuts from my tree - free!-just pay for shipping them.

I don't need to make anything,I just would like to see others planting a few to try to bring a few back to the landscape.

I bought some butternuts from a farmers market this fall in Marshfeild, WI. One large bag of them for $1.00, The skins on the outside were still green but were turning brown. I plan on planting them This weekend..................before the ground gets to frozen.

I guess there are more trees out there than I thought!
I know some mail order nurseries sell a variety that produces lots of nuts,but is not canker resistant.The info I have suggests trees planted in a city or on a isolated fence row may escape exsposure to butternut canker.
So if you have larger tract of land maybe a open fencerow will help the tree survive?
Either way just planting a few will at least keep the tree around longer.

This year my tree had 20+ nuts but the squirrels got them before I did,and only ended up with 2 nuts.I usually plant them right away,to keep the nut from drying out.I plant them in a deep 3-4 gal nursery pot then bury the pot in the ground to ground level then place a peice of screen or a bunch of small rocks on them to keep the rodents out.
Well good luck with yours!

LPP

There was a huge butternut at a B&B my wife and I stayed at in Wausau a few years ago. I thought it was a black walnut at first but the owner said it was butternut. Out in the open (as opposed to the urban landscape)is a great place to plant them for a number of reasons. Debris dropping and the juglone (though butternut is not quite as bad as black walnut) being the main drawbacks to city plantings. In the right environment they are beautiful trees.

tj

I have a tree that I am fairly certain is a butternut. It is quite large and the nuts mostly go to squirrels and mice. I find them slightly easier to husk and crack than the black walnuts I also have, but I don't find either one worth my effort really, so I ignore or give away the nuts mostly.

Marcia

Marcia

The difference between black walnut and butternut nuts is,Butternut has a oblong shaped nut,compared to the round shape of the black walnut.

I've never acquired the taste for black walnuts, what do butternuts taste like? I see the English walnut trees in the catalogs, but I think I'd be pushing the Zone recommendation here in Wisconsin. As much as I love oak trees, it's a pity that people aren't planting more edible nut and fruit trees for landscape.

my dad had me try an acorn when I was a kid... i wasn't impressed :-)

I can not describe the ddifference but squirrels prefer them to black walnut.

I have one butternut and two black walnut trees in my yard. Yes the butternut is more oblong in shape and fall off the tree earlier than the black walnuts. The butternuts have more of a butter flavor. I prefer them over the black walnut. Trouble is to get them before the squirrels do and then dry them before cracking them. They are hard to crack open. The butternut has a smoother bark than the black walnut trees.

Hello all,
I just checked my butternut tree and it looks like it has many nuts this year.With all the rain we are having this year everything looks good.
Two of the seven show signs of butternut canker,the other five still healthy.A secound tree is now produceing nuts.
The two nuts I planted last fall are up and growing.
Hopefully I'll beat the squirrel's to this years crop.

lp

looking for fresh butternut nuts for planting,

I have a beautiful butternut tree.. I'm fascinated by it.. I am wondering if the can be propagated by stem cuttings and root hormone.. anyone know. I know the seeds have to be contained in a cool airtight spot for a season(90 days) then they are ready to grow in the spring.. I want more butternut trees bad..

Or, you could just bury the nuts like squirrels do. They come up in my yard all the time from the neighbor a few houses down. Black walnuts, too.

Rick

Right on Rick,

When I bury the nuts to deep they don't grow good,now I would recomend just throw em on the ground and step them in.

For lpptz5b:

I know this is an old thread but just wondering how your butternuts are doing? Are they still showing resistance? If so would you be willing to part with some seeds or scion wood?
Trying to graft my first butternuts this year and it looks like I may have succeeded.

Phil