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Fernette Walnut Tree Options Explained
7 Litre: Around 150-200cm tall in a 7 litre pot, 2-3 years old.
Fernette Walnut Tree
Fernette Walnut Tree is a grafted English walnut variety for buyers who want a modern French walnut with large, good-quality, easy-to-crack nuts, thin shells and generous harvests in late September to early October. The nuts are suitable for eating fresh and for cooking, and the young green walnuts can also be picked in summer for pickling before the shells form. Particularly suitable for northern UK gardens with a later harvesting time compared to other walnuts and an excellent pollinator of other walnuts.
Fernette is usually described as an upright-growing walnut and is expected to be a medium-to-large walnut tree over time, which can mean up to 20m tall and 10m wide although pruning can keep those numbers down.
Fernette is also lateral-bearing, so it has good cropping potential because nuts can form along more of the branch rather than only at the tips. As it is late-leafing and late-flowering, it helps reduce the risk of spring frost damage compared with other early walnuts.
Fernette will usually start reaching significant crop yields around 4-5 years old, and the half-standard versions we sell are between 2-3 years old already. The nut is ripe when the husk has burst and the nut falls out.
Fernette is listed as self-fertile, so it can be planted as a single walnut tree where there is only room for one. However, walnuts often crop better with a compatible partner nearby so if you don't have space for a second tree, talk your neighbour into buying a Franquette, Fernor, Ronde de Montignac or Ivarto for increased crop yields. Fernette is a good pollinator for Lara, Fernor and Chandler.
Pests and diseases: Walnuts are generally trouble-free in UK gardens. Walnut blight can occur, but is rarely a serious UK garden problem. Codling moth may occasionally damage walnuts, although it is much more commonly associated with apples and pears, and damage to walnuts is usually not significant.
Planting a Fernette Walnut Tree
Plant a Fernette walnut tree in full sun or light shade, in a sheltered position away from frost pockets. A frost pocket can be at the bottom of a valley or somewhere the sun doesn't get to it until later in the day. Walnuts tolerate a range of soils, but Fernette is best planted in light, sandy, well-drained soil where the roots will not sit wet.
Dig a generous planting hole, set the tree at the same depth it was growing in the pot, backfill with soil, firm gently and water thoroughly. Keep it watered during dry spells in the first growing season, especially while the roots are establishing.
Useful Information About Fernette Walnut Tree
Fernette is a French walnut variety bred from Franquette x Lara.
The nut kernel contains 64% fat, 20% protein, a range of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus.
Often forms many top shoots rather than one dominant leader, which helps create a naturally open crown where light can reach the flowering wood.
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.
