Nut Tree Seeds

• Walnuts are the fruit of the walnut tree and also the seed. Ursula Alter/Photodisc/Getty Images

  Nut trees can be an interesting addition to the home landscape. Most nut tree seeds are the nuts but some take a special set of environmental and temperature conditions to germinate. It is far faster and easier to grow a nut tree that has been grafted, and that is the preferred method of propagation in commercial nut production. Many trees can be grown from their seed or nut if the gardener is patient and takes a creative approach to the growing process.

Definition of a Nut

• Nuts grow on trees or, rarely, large bushes. The nut is the fruiting body of the tree and contains the dried seed inside the shell. The term nut can mean just the seed meat inside or the complete shell and seed. Not all nuts are good for human consumption, but many are and they are high in protein. Tree nut seeds include pecans, cashews, walnuts, filberts, hazelnuts, chestnuts and many more. Many species of nut trees need cold winter temperatures before fruiting while others are tropical species. It is best to consult the University Extension of your area to ascertain if a nut will grow in your USDA zone. USDA zones define an area's lowest average annual temperature and tell you if a plant can be expected to grow in that area.

Walnuts

• Walnuts are a nut tree seed that is also a nut. The exterior of the nut has a hard shell with a ridge around it. The interior is a wrinkled hard nutmeat that has the texture of a brain due to the ridges and folds. Six species of walnuts grow in the United States, and they can germinate from nuts planted in rich, moist soil in the forest. Walnut seeds should be hulled and receive stratification or cold treatment before planting. An old farmer's saying regarding planting walnuts recommends planting two bushels of the nuts -- one for the squirrels and one for plants.

Cashews

• Cashew trees have two parts to the fruit. The actual fruit is a pome-like appendage that can be eaten as a fruit and is called cashew apple. Dangling off the end of the fruit is the nut or seed. The cashew nut is the seed of the cashew tree. Birds eat the nuts and distribute the seed naturally. If you wish to plant one the exterior of the nut is filled with caustic liquid, so care should be taken when shelling the nut. Inside is the cashew nut meat that we know from the supermarket. If planted when fresh off the tree, it should result in a plant; however, it may not be identical to the parent.

Pecans

• The pecan nut is the fruit and seed of the pecan tree, which is a warm weather nut tree. Pecan trees can be planted successfully from the nut but require two to four years before they can begin to flower. Pecans are similar to walnuts in that they have a hard shell and nutmeat inside. Nuts can be planted in the ground in fall, and they will receive natural stratification or cold treatment. However, it is likely that rodents will dig up the nut and eat it. The better way is to collect the nut, soak it in water for several days and stratify it in the refrigerator for a few months. Then plant it outside in February or March 3 inches down in soil hills. Growth will be slow, but saplings should be strong in two years.

Planting from Nut Tree Seeds

• It is common in nature for a nut tree to start from a dropped nut or the seed distributed by birds. However, nut tree volunteers are often not true to the parent plant or may not produce nuts. Nut trees require another tree to cross-pollinate them before the seed is viable. To ensure a producing tree, the started plant is usually grafted to a complementary root stock such as apple. This will increase the speed of growth and adds beneficial characteristics from the root stock to the new nut tree. It is quicker and more predictable than simply growing from the nut.