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Many have turned to expanding their orchards to supplement their food budgets. Although not as commonly grown, many nut species are suitable for regular nut production, and others may be grown for hobby. Most require cross-pollination. To do so, you need to plant two trees of the same species but not the same variety. For example, a common walnut variety such as Lake will not produce nuts if planted singly, or if it receives pollen from another Lake walnut. For the walnut tree to bear, pollen from another type such as Idaho, Champion or another seed grown tree is required.
Persian Walnut (English Walnut): Nuts are light brown in color and easy to crack. Multiple cultivars exist but Carpathian types are better suited to Utah's and colder climates such as the Cache Valley. Most walnuts grow to 50 feet high and wide. Shorter season walnuts of all species require around 140 days where temperatures do not drop below 28 degrees F. to produce ripe nuts. For more on how to grow walnuts and a list of suitable varieties, access the following fact sheet entitled Walnuts in the Home Orchard here.
Black Walnut: Black walnuts are also common and reach a similar size to Persian. Their shells are harder to crack, and the meat has a slightly stronger flavor.
Japanese Heartnut: This is a less common walnut species hardy to the Wasatch Front and other warmer areas of Utah. Its nuts are generally easy to crack. An advantage to Japanese heartnut is that it grows to only half to two-thirds of the size of other walnut species, making it suitable for smaller yards. However, it is challenging to find locally and may need to be ordered online. Butternut, another harder to find walnut species, is tasty and cross-pollinates Japanese heartnut.
Hazelnuts (Filberts): There are several species of hazelnut. All produce edible nuts that vary in size from a half inch to an inch. European hazel produces the largest but flowers so early that the flowers usually freeze in our climate. They are more suitable to the Wasatch Front and other warmer areas, but nut production will still be sporadic. Hybrids exist between the European species and others that produce larger nuts that are more suitable for Utah. These hybrids may be hard to find locally. For more information about growing hazelnuts, access the following fact sheet entitled Hazelnuts in the Home Orchard here.
Almonds: Almonds are challenging due to blossoming early enough that flowers are often damaged by frost . They also ripen late in the growing season. Plant them in warm, protected areas of the yard to maximize chances of production. A few beautiful specimens actually exist in the Cache Valley but do not ripen fruit due to the short growing season. However, I am aware of a few others on the Bountiful bench that regularly produce. If you want the challenge of growing them, a common variety called All-In-One is self-pollinating. It also pollinates other commonly grown varieties such as Hall's Hardy and Nonpareil.
Pecans: Pecan trees are hardy in much of Utah but rarely ripen nuts due to our short growing season. A few "northern varieties" exist, but they are still often unreliable.
Chestnut: Chestnuts produce nuts and are cold hardy to much of Utah. The challenge to growing them is their susceptibility to iron chlorosis due to our alkaline soils. Thusly, plant them in well drained soils that are not excessively rich in lime or salt. Annual treatment with iron chelate may still be required.
