Walnuts are trees that enjoy great popularity in a large part of the world, and it is that they take advantage of both the shade and their great aesthetic value, as well as their wood, highly appreciated in some species and, of course, the walnuts, their healthy and tasty fruits.
Its great success, however, has also caused a commensurate expansion and today, walnuts and woods of many types of walnut can be found, depending mainly on the dominant species in the crop in the country of origin. For this reason, at DIYGardens we want to offer you a list of the types of walnut more expanded.
Franquette
The Franquette is the most cultivated walnut, by far, in French territory. 8 out of 10 walnut plantations in the Gallic country belong to the Franquette type, a plant quite suitable for cold areas thanks to the fact that it is remarkably late.
It is a highly vigorous species, especially suitable for wide planting frames, although it is also adaptable. It sprouts around the end of April, although it depends on the specific circumstances. Flowering occurs between the end of April and the beginning of May, although it needs a greater number of cold hours than other varieties. The Franquette has a great fruit production capacity, although it has little lateral fruiting, falling short of other even more productive varieties such as Howard or Chandler. Due to this, in Spain it is used mainly as a pollinator of these.
Howard
The Howard is a variety of grafted walnut, which was born from the UC56-224 and Pedro varieties, at the University of Davis, in California. It is a variety closely related to the Chandler, although they have some differences.
It is the second most popular variety in California, owing its popularity both to the quality and quantity of its fruit as to the early harvestwith the important advantage that this implies when marketing it.
It is of medium vigor and appropriate for warm and temperate climates, requiring fewer cold hours than other varieties. Its shorter branching also makes it easy to grow in narrow planting frames. Its average production is no less than 5 tons per hectare when it is worked well.
In this article we explain how to plant a walnut tree.
Chandler
Chandler is also a graft variety, in this case the result of crossing the Pedro variety with UC56-224, once again at the University of Davis in California. It is one of the most cultivated varieties both in California and in Spain and Chile, to give a few examples.
It is a walnut that gives a very homogeneous fruit, light in color and high quality. The Chandler has great vigor and produces great lateral fruiting, so its production capacity is enormous, which can reach almost 9 tons per hectare. The fruit is particularly easy due to its thin shell, which makes it very easy to remove, and its large, clear grain.
Gales
The Gales is a variety of walnut grown in Spain, specifically in the Valencian Community, although it is not very popular in new plantations, and it is more common for it to be used simply for home consumption.
It is a variety of walnut suitable for climates without late frosts, which offers a very large fruit, of good quality despite the irregular appearance of the shell. One of its main advantages is that this walnut does not need pollinators and that its vigor is medium to high.
Hartley
This was the most popular variety in California until the arrival of the Chandler variety, offering a very large conical shaped fruit and a tree with a moderately open habit. It is a very vigorous variety as long as it has sufficiently fertile soils, which also need depth and good drainage.
Despite giving large productions, it takes a long time to reach its optimal point, which does not arrive until after the tree is 12 years old. It is a variety of medium bud break, which needs very structured formations in its cultivation to give a good production, with wide planting frames.
You may also be interested in knowing how to germinate a walnut.
Chico
Another Californian variety, small in size, as its name indicates, and upright. Its fruits are also small, although the tree produces a large quantity of these, which are also early produced and have a very good color. It is possible to carry out severe pruning on the walnut tree to increase the size of its nuts.
Lara
The Lara is a French variety of grafted walnut, which It is characterized by its sprouting and early production, with a large globular nut, with an easy-to-crack shell and succulent grain. It is a tree of medium vigor and yield, which produces adequately after 8 years of age and is recommended for plantations with a narrow frame.
Parisian
This French variety, as the name suggests, is grown in Isère. gives rise to a nut of great thickness and flavor, very easy to shell. The tree is vigorous and easy to form, one of its main advantages, although maturation is remarkably late: it does not occur until late October.
Now that you know different types of walnut, you may also be interested in this other DIYGardens article on What are washing walnuts and what they are for.
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