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Franquette Walnut Tree Options Explained
7 Litre: Around 150-200cm tall in a 7 litre pot.2-3 years old.
Franquette Walnut Tree
Franquette Walnut Tree is considered an excellent tasting French walnut variety for buyers who want a traditional, high-quality eating walnut with late leafing and good nut quality. It has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is best suited to large gardens, orchards, paddocks or parkland-style spaces rather than small gardens.
Franquette is a large, broad, deciduous walnut tree capable of reaching around 20m tall and at least 15m across after 20+ years, with a spreading branched habit.
The tree has handsome walnut foliage, with large leaves made up of 5 or 7 oblong green leaflets. The young leaves emerge copper-coloured, turn bright green through summer, then yellow before falling in autumn. The leaves are also fragrant when crushed, giving Franquette some ornamental value as well as its crop.
Franquette is late into leaf, which is one of its main advantages, as it can help reduce the risk of damage from late spring frosts, making it a useful walnut choice for cooler northern gardens or frost pockets e.g. morning shaded spots.
Well-respected growers list this tree differently as not self-fertile and partially self-fertile. On the face of it, this technically means somewhere between zero walnut crops to some walnut crops. What the not self-fertile growers are probably doing is saying that the crop is so small, you are better off getting a pollination partner. So if you are happy with that, just buy the one walnut tree. If you want bumper crops, buy a Broadview, Chandler, Lara or Fernor as well.
Franquette is a tip bearer, which means fruits are grown on the branch ends. A lateral-bearer walnut tree of the same size grows walnuts along the branch i.e. has more growing real estate and produces more harvest. In short, if you have a tight space and want maximum crops, then choose a lateral bearer. The AGM and great tasting walnuts make the extra space needed a worthwhile expense.
The nuts are medium to large, oval and a thin well-sealed shell. The kernels are easy to extract and can store well.
Franquette is a late-season walnut, usually harvested from late September into autumn, depending on site and season. The fully ripe nuts can be picked, dried and stored, while young green walnuts can also be picked in summer before the shell forms for pickling.
It is also a useful culinary walnut. The nuts can be eaten fresh, used in cooking, dried for storage or used green for pickling. If you are buying a walnut because you actually want walnuts rather than just a large leafy tree, Franquette is a sensible traditional choice.
Planting a Franquette Walnut Tree
Plant Franquette in deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soil. RHS lists chalk, clay, loam and sand as suitable soil types, provided the soil does not sit wet. A sunny position is best for cropping, although RHS lists full sun or partial shade as suitable.
Choose the planting position carefully. Franquette is hardy, with an RHS H6 hardiness rating, but it still needs enough space to develop properly. Avoid cramped positions, wet ground and places where the mature crown will become a problem.
Water well after planting and during dry spells while the tree is establishing. Keep grass and weeds away from the base, mulch around the root area, and avoid heavy pruning unless needed. Normal pruning should be light and minimal.
Useful Information About Franquette Walnut Tree
Franquette is an old traditional French walnut variety associated with the Grenoble and Dauphiné walnut-growing region. Exact origin dates vary between sources, so it is safest to describe it as a long-established French variety rather than relying on one specific date.
Franquette is reported by several sources as having useful tolerance or resistance to walnut blight and some common walnut disease issues. This should not be treated as immunity, but it does add to its appeal as a reliable traditional variety.
RHS notes that walnuts can be produced on quite young Franquette trees, usually under ten years old.
Quick Fruit Tree Links
Take a look at our TOP SELLING FRUIT TREES, Wet ground issues then choose a PEAR TREE first, followed by APPLE TREES.
Fruit Tree Life Expectancy
Most fruit trees will give you AT LEAST 40 years of fruit. Pears can go to 70.
Do I Need To Stake My Bare Root Fruit Tree?
9 out of 10 times the answer will be no, especially if under 200cm tall. However our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
Planting In The Corner Of A Garden
Air and light is reduced in this location which could promote fungus and bacterial issues. Corners of houses and fences can also suffer leeching issues so we advise against it.
General Walnut Information
Walnuts can be difficult to establish in their first year, and some shoot-tip dieback can happen while young trees settle in. To improve their chances, water well during dry spells and keep grass and weeds cleared from around the base of the tree, ideally to about 1 metre across. Walnut trees tolerate a range of soils, but they establish best in deep, fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered position.
Most walnut trees sold for fruit are grafted rather than grown from seed. Grafted walnut trees usually give more predictable variety characteristics, better size and shape consistency, and earlier cropping than seed-grown walnuts. Some grafted walnut varieties can start cropping within a few years of planting, depending on the variety, tree size, growing conditions and establishment.
If you are going to pickle walnuts, pick them in late June or early July, before the shell has properly hardened.
To improve fruiting, some growers use a technique called girdling, ringing or cincturing. This deliberately restricts the flow of sap to reduce vegetative growth and encourage fruiting. It must be treated with caution: if done too tightly, too deeply, for too long, or in the wrong place, it can damage or even kill the tree. RHS notes that ringing is used in fruit production but is not advised for home gardeners because of the risk if done incorrectly. Anyone considering it should research the technique properly first and understand the risk before trying it.
Ideal conditions for walnut trees are deep, fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, full sun, shelter from strong winds and avoidance of frost pockets. If the soil is poor, improve the wider planting area with well-rotted organic matter rather than creating a rich isolated pocket in the planting hole.
Walnuts are large trees, so check the expected mature size of the variety before planting. Many need a generous open position rather than a small garden corner. A nitrogen-rich feed or a quality mulch in early spring can help keep the tree healthy, especially while it is establishing.
Walnut shells have interesting uses in industry. They are used for cleaning and polishing materials such as soft metals, plastics, wood, stone and fibreglass.
Walnut trees can produce juglone, a natural compound that may suppress the growth of some nearby plants. The issue is generally associated more strongly with black walnut, Juglans nigra, but English/Persian walnut, Juglans regia, can still produce juglone to a lesser degree. Avoid planting very sensitive plants directly beneath or very close to walnut trees, especially under the canopy where roots, fallen leaves and husks are concentrated. Shade, dry soil and root competition can also make planting under an older walnut difficult.
Seed-grown Juglans regia can take many years to crop, which is one reason grafted walnut varieties are usually preferred for fruit production.
Walnuts are one of the oldest tree foods known to have been used by people, with records commonly traced back thousands of years. The common walnut is often associated with Persia and the wider region around modern Iran, and walnut trees were introduced to Britain by the Romans.
Walnut trees can be long-lived, and established trees may remain productive for many decades in good conditions.
Walnuts are energy-dense and contain unsaturated fats, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Per 100g of shelled walnut, they contain approximately:
65g of fat, most of which is unsaturated fat
15g of protein
14g carbohydrates
7g dietary fibre
Calories per 100g: around 650
Per 100g of shelled walnut, they also contain approximately:
441mg potassium
346mg phosphorus
158mg magnesium
98mg calcium
3.4mg manganese
3.1mg zinc
2.9mg iron
1.6mg copper
98µg folate
0.54mg vitamin B6
0.34mg thiamin
General Walnut Tree Pollination
All walnut trees have male catkins and female flowers. In a perfect world, the male pollen release happens at the same time as the female flowers are ready to accept it and maximum pollination occurs giving largest possible walnut fruit harvest. Some walnuts have a time gap between the males releasing pollen to the females being ready to accept it i.e. smaller crop. By having another walnut tree that releases pollen at the same time as your female flowers are ready to accept it, you can increase the size of your walnut crop.
Unfortunately, pollination is not always a two way process like apples and other fruits so some combinations may mean only one tree has increased fruit yield. Our suggestions for partners give you maximum harvest size.
General Walnut Tree Pruning
Walnut trees need less pruning than apples, pears or plums. The aim is to build a strong, open tree, remove badly placed growth and avoid heavy cutting unless there is a clear reason.
The safest time to prune walnut trees is from mid-summer to early autumn, while the tree is still in leaf. If you absolutely must, this can be extended into early winter, but avoid pruning in late winter or spring because walnut trees can bleed sap heavily if cut at the wrong time. Choose a dry pruning day with good weather forecast to help cuts dry out. Do not use tree wound sealant, as this can trap pathogens.
For a young walnut tree, keep pruning light. Remove dead, damaged, diseased, crossing or badly placed shoots. If the tree is forming a poor shape, choose a good main leader and well-spaced side branches, then remove competing leaders or awkward branches before they become large.
Some inward-growing young shoots may be trained into a better position rather than cut out. Do not tie string tightly around a walnut branch, as this can restrict growth. Use a loose loop, rubber tree tie or another non-restricting method.
For an established walnut tree, prune only where there is a clear reason. Remove dead wood, crowded or crossing branches, and any low limbs that are in the way. Avoid heavy cutting and do not try to keep the tree small by hacking it back; walnuts respond better to early training and light correction than hard pruning later.
Walnut Tree Shaping For Light And Higher Yields
A walnut tree with a clear main leader and well-spaced side branches is usually easier to train into a strong, open shape. Good spacing helps light and air reach more of the canopy, which supports healthy growth and cropping.
The basic aim is to avoid the upper branches becoming too dominant and shading the lower branches. On young trees, remove or shorten badly placed competing growth early, before it becomes large. Keep the branches well spaced from each other to promote light and air through the canopy.
A bush-shaped walnut tree, where several main branches start low to the ground, is best pruned lightly to keep the centre open and reduce crossing, crowded or inward-growing branches.
Training young side branches to a wider, more horizontal angle can help create a stronger, better-lit branch structure and may improve cropping potential.
