A rare plant...at least for Mississippi

[shelbycharger400]

hard to tell, but is that 7 pairs of leaf sets ?
walnuts i rememberd as 10

I have yet to see a butternut here in mn.  

not to hyjack your post, but  splittin a ton of white and red oak.   i came across a piece that looks like white oak on the sapwood with red oak  in the heart wood.
also at the lake house is a rare one. 2 trees grown next to one another essentially a crotch then v off,  one is an ash other is a red oak, both have the same bark !

[Banjo picker]

I have yet to see a butternut here in mn.  

I had not seen one in Mississippi either ...untill I planted some....   Unless I am looking at the wrong state...there could be some in south east Mn...Tim

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm glad to see that one of your little butternuts survived! I'm starting to wonder if I'll survive in Mississippi after this last month . Thankfully we got some rain last night that cooled things off a bit. None of my butternuts survived - the squirrels got them all, and I never did get any more nuts. They came from a solitary tree, not a grove. It happens to be the only butternut tree I have ever seen growing wild. It wouldn't surprise me if your tree that did survive was the one lucky flower that was pollinated by a stray windblown speck of pollen from a distant tree

[SwampDonkey]

Butternut trees are one of those tree species that if your not looking for it, you don't know about there being a whole bunch around through the woods. I find new ones, pole sized or bigger, all the time around woodlots in the area. They aren't as abundant as ash, but they are about. One lady has planted quite a few around here house lot. They are saplings and seedlings. The one I planted at dad's came from a seed off my yard tree, it's growing very well and is now about 7 feet after 6 or 7 years growth. I planted one at my uncle's about 14 years ago. It might actually be flowering this year, it's over 30 feet tall now. There is a grove of them across the road from his place on reservation land. And two of three in the woods behind the field above the house. Miles of them along a terrace, mixed in with other trees, that follows the main river. Any damp gully or spring in maple forest might have some to, but not more than 10 miles out from the main river. Out in the back country, no sign of them.

[Banjo picker]

Dodgy I am glad it is doing well myself...I did not really know where to plant them...If I ever get any more I will have a better idea as to where to put them..

..This weather has been a little unkind as of late...and about a month or so early with all this heat...We didn't get the shower you got either...

SwampDonkey ...Would seeds from trees in the North have as good a chance of sprouting and growin as ones from a Southern tree in my woods...The reason I am asking is I got some different seeds from Marcel --and as best as I can tell they never came up....they were horsechesnuts....   I gave them the same protection in the hardware cloth cylinder as I did the butternuts....Tim

[SwampDonkey]

I don't think our northern "cultivar" would survive the southern climate. And with canker disease, it's not a good idea to move the nuts because the husk is sticky and can possibly harbor the fungus. I don't think I have the disease in my trees, but I can't prove it. The canker has been identified in NB butternut by Forestry Canada. So probably the big guys at the border would seize the shipment.

[shelbycharger400]

I think i shoud do some research if they would grow here or not....  my well is 25 ft down,  then granite...  to note...i have never tasted water this good           im about  1000 ft from a river here,.    mostly sand and gravel .     If it grows 30 ft in 14 years... that sounds like a nice shade tree/  potential material producer. 

[SwampDonkey]

I've been thinning my plantations the last week and been watching out for my planted butternut and red oak. I found all my butternut trees that I could remember, and they look good, but don't grow very fast up here.


I also found this is the back yard under the drip line of one of the walnut trees. It may be my first walnut seedling. I'm not sure yet, too early to tell. I'll know when it elongates more, could also be butternut. The real test will be winter survival.

[Banjo picker]

Sounds like you hope its a little walnut...I would be pulling for a butternut.  Tim

[Banjo picker]

Swampdonkey I found some pictures that I had for a while and just now stumbled on to them...The first one is the baby tree of the one in the post....



This next one is of one of the little fellows that didn't make it...

I can't get it to come through will try in a new post...Tim

[Banjo picker]

 



Thats not a photo mess up either...it turned just that white...I had several that did just so...It looks like your little fellow is a might shy on color as well...Is it still alive?   Tim

[SwampDonkey]

Tim, with my little fellow the color got washed out by the flash. It's actually red veined leaves and petiole with green tinge and reddish stem. The same color that the flower would be on a mature tree. That's how I tell my roses apart if I lose the tags. 

I've never had any go white, however a lawn offers little shelter in winter and many will get bit by the cold. But in the woods there is more shelter and the seedlings seem to survive better if the hares don't eat the top off.

[JimTwoSticks]

Shelby, can't think of any specific trees I can direct you to in or near Becker but there are some along the river closer to the Cities.
They will grow in Becker however so if you can get some seed have at it.

One thing with butternut that is somewhat problematic is the extensive hybridization with Japanese walnut. Hybrids have been found throughout the range and in some places true "butternut" no longer exists and the only trees present on the site are the hybrids (juglans x bixbyi). They look quite similar and are often confused.

[shelbycharger400]

when the hybrid happens... dose it effect nut production..ect ?  or is it just an asthetics aspect of it.

[JimTwoSticks]

The trees themselves look VERY similar to pure butternut but will usually have increased nut production

[SwampDonkey]

Tim, looks like I'll have a another butternut tree out of that seedling.