How To Grow Shagbark Hickory Trees From Seed
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- čas přidán 21. 06. 2024
- This video is a tutorial on how to grow a Shagbark Hickory Tree from seed (Carya ovata). It covers everything from locating, Identifying, and growing conditions. Also included is when to harvest nuts, test their viability, and then germination, cold treatment, etc.
All information from this video is available for quick reference here: growitbuildit.com/shagbark-hi...
To learn how effective the float test is, see our write up on it where I summarize several published studies - growitbuildit.com/float-test-...
Nut cracker shown in the video
growitbuildit.com/the-best-nu...
Like the mallets? Make your own here - growitbuildit.com/make-mallet...
Tree Shelters I use - amzn.to/3sVld5U (affiliate link)
Timeline -
00:00 How To Grow Shagbark Hickory Trees From Seed
01:28 Native Range and Identification (bark/leaves)
02:53 Harvesting nuts
04:12 Testing nut viability
05:53 Cold stratification / Planting Hickory Nuts
07:56 Germination / Growing Hickory Trees - Jak na to + styl
A beautiful tree, and my favorite as well. I grew up and still live surrounded by enormous old shagbarks. I know they’re old and don’t have much time, so I wish to grow a few from their own seed, to continue their legacy. Thanks for this.
I'm happy to hear you are going to grow some - good luck!
Love my shagbark growing in my city yard. I've dug up seedlings and spread around on the abutting city property.
Nice! I've practiced 'guerilla gardening' at a powerline cut near my home.
You're like, the Bob Ross of trees.
Now that is a great compliment! Thank you Kaiser!
Dude you always post the exact plants I’m in the process of trying to grow. I love it. So awesome.
Sweet man - this is a good tree to grow, that does not get nearly enough respect.
I don't think they will grow here.lm at 10,000 high in Colorado won't mind trying it though. 🐻🏡
The highest I've heard of them growing is at 3k ft. But that is Appalachia though. Much smaller mountains
@@growitbuildit it's like 40 below for 3 months and 10' of snow all winter hard wether here. 🐻🏡
@Mark Liss Wow! That's like the Donnor Party location!
Great video. Mature shagbarks are certainly easy to pick out on the landscape, the only trouble I have is telling shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) apart from the less common shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa). Shagbark tends to have 5 leaflets vs shellbark’s 7, but there are exceptions. Shellbark definitely prefers bottomlands, whereas shagbark tends towards upland forests although it is somewhat of a generalist. Shellbark will hold onto their rachis (leave spines) thru winter and you can sometimes spot that. Another common name for shellbark was “kingnut”, and they do indeed have the largest husk, even bigger than the already large shagbark fruit. Both of our “shaggy” hickories have very palatable nuts that make for good eating, and are valuable members of the forest community. Wonderful trees!
We aren't supposed to have the Shellbark hickory out here, so I have never bothered researching the differences. But those are good tips - I will remember to check for the rachis in Winter to be sure I've got shagbark. Nonetheless, the germination protocol would be the same.
@@growitbuildit ahh gotcha. Yeah I’m in SW Ohio and we have both “shaggy” hickories, although shagbark seems more common.
I bought a seedling online but learned alot from the video. I'll need to keep an eye out for these in the neighborhood
Glad you found it helpful - good luck with your seedling. These aren't too hard to germinate, so you can hopefully score more for free.
So educational. I'm obsessed with your content. Good work, sir!
Thank you so much Sam! I'm glad you are enjoying it all!
Growing up in Northern Indiana, we had several of these trees. They are beautiful trees, with gorgeous hardwood and delicious nuts. Nice video. Last year I grew walnuts, this year trying hickory.
Excellent - good luck starting the Hickory nuts!
Of all the videos I listened to, you are definitely the best. Thank you again
Thank you Dominique! I'm glad you found it helpful!
Excellent video! Thank you. I live in Northeast Ohio, and recently collected one shagbark hickory nut intact and will follow your advice. I know that I need more than one, but I was lucky to find this one rolled just off the border of someone's private property.
That is great Lucy - I hope it is viable for you! Good luck!
I remember sitting for Hours under the Old Hickory as a child breaking open Hickory nuts and Hickory Wood smoke is some of the BEST for smoking meats as well.
Sounds like fond memories - we had no hickory where I grew up. Silver maple was the dominant tree (river bottoms).
most complete explanation of this process I have found on the net, thanks lots.
Thank you - I'm very glad you found it helpful.
Great video! I was having trouble getting concise answers about growing Shagbark Hickory Trees. Thank you for answering all my questions and offering some inside knowledge that I would not have found elsewhere.
You are welcome Randolph - I'm happy I could help you. I am sorry you couldn't find the info sooner. I must say that it gets frustrating when my website or video is buried behind other sources. Oh well. Glad I could help you out and good luck!
Fantastic video - thank you!!
You are very welcome Corina! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great info thank you, also one of my favorite trees. I would note also, maybe because they are slow growers and very dense/hard, they are incredibly straight and robust.
All true - I have noticed that they really do have straight trunks. I can't really remember ever seeing a crooked one. My first mallet I made was from a chunk of Hickory firewood - great balance, weight, and is hard as heck!
Great video!
Thank you - glad you liked it!
I'm going to try growing hickories myself. Thanks for the helpful video!
You are very welcome - good luck!
Great video. Thanks for sharing
You are very welcome!
Great video
Thank you Garret! Glad you enjoyed it.
I liked this video great job man very informational I’m gunna germinate 20 this year!
Excellent! That is what I like to hear. Good luck Reece!
Fantastic! I would love to have some of these on my property
They are wonderful trees. Beautiful, and valuable.
I didn't think we had these in my area until an old farm by my house started the whole Halloween, Pumpkin patch hay ride stuff. Then on that farm was a Massive, Ancient shagbark. I was super excited to see it. Logging is the way in my area so there's a good chance there is just a handful of these things around.
It can be tough to locate trees to harvest the nuts from. I have a huge Shagbark in my backyard (sort of). But the squirrels grab almost all of the nuts on the first bounce
slow growing hardwoods get eliminated with successive rounds of logging. It takes quite a few years for the tree to become sexually mature (produce nuts), and even small trees that produce small boards are tempting to loggers because they may make as much on that small hardwood tree as they would a larger softwood tree. Because of this the percentage of a forest that is a slow-growing hardwood drops a lot each time the land is logged. Reintroducing slow-growing to your land/yard is a great thing to do, but the best way to do it is a bit of a challenge: you need to find local genetics instead of ordering something online or buying it from a nursery that buys in plants from out of state. If you buy something mass-produced, you are likely buying a clone-army plant, instead of one that is native, produced from seed, and genetically unique. The best way is to find trees and nuts locally, either by tromping in the woods, or working with other native-plant junkies in your area!
Growing thew from seed! Just put them into stratification yesterday and will take them out in december
Excellent - good luck!
Nice tips. We only seem to have one of these on our 70 some acres. So we may have to give this a try.
I am surprised the squirrels aren't planting them for you!
Great video. I planted 8 seeds. I’m digging them up and plan to put the bare seedlings in the frig in a ziplock bag and plant them in the spring. The taproot is about a foot long!
Hi Bill - if they are in the ground, maybe just cage them. Unless you want to move them that is.
@@growitbuildit I planted them in a row so I must move them. The USDA Protocol Info says to store them in the frig in aged, moistened hardwood sawdust. One of the young trees had a tap root of 18”.
Shagbarks are the prettiest tree in North America
Besides a great food source and bow wood !! It was a favorite wood for making lacrosse sticks before plastic 🥍 sticks came along.
Some players still favor them and use them if league rules allow it.
Thanks for the info 🎉
I'll be planting trees for the next generation, who knows, I may live long enough to use them. Forgot to say I am a nut gatherer for sixty years and forty years a bowmaker. Next project is making lacrosse sticks with the Grandkids 😊
That is awesome you are planting some. And that is great that you are making Lacrosse sticks from them. Question - do you need the wood to be dry? Or do you rough out the shape while it is green? Or are you steam bending them?
I just bought some sprouted nuts online, hope I can get them to grow!
Good luck Bryan!
Can you maybe do a vid one time on the Shellbark Hickory? By the way great vid. I have a few what I think are Shagbark Hickory's near by and Im excited to get their fruit in the fall. I will collect their leaves in spring and use the 5 vs 7 leaflets trick just to confirm the ID. Anyway best of luck with your trees. Have a great day!
I would love to on Shellbark - but I don't know where any trees are. They aren't listed as native in my area (a few hours drive at least). If I ever come across a specimen though, I will. But the germination protocol should be the same.
Thanks man for all the feedback. You're an amazing CZcamsr, thanks for everything you do and helping me connect more with nature. Anyway have a great day and keep up the spectacular work!
You really seem to know what your talking about thanks for the vid.
Thank you! I try not to make videos unless I know my topic well!
I was just out collecting nuts and these were easy to pick out. They were in a Grove of Oaks, so I just looked for the shaggy bark and viola, there they were.
Nice!
Great video i just bought some seedlings you should do a video on Northern pecans you always make quality videos and theres not many quality videos on the Northern pecan and starting them from seed.
Sometime I may try the Northern Pecans. I would need to locate a seed source for that one though! And thank you for the kind words - I'm glad you enjoy my videos.
Fantastic video. Loaded with info. Good pace. Very professional. To germinate a nut in a pot, do you put dirt on top of it?
Thank you - glad you enjoyed it. And yes, you plant the nut on it's side and buried 1-2" deep.
So over-wintering is basically the same as oak acorns. I just found a Black Hickory just off my property in E. Texas. I collected several along with White Oak acorns to populate the ‘yard’ once our house is finished. I’ve had great luck with oaks in the past and I’m looking forward to trying hickory too. Very informative video. You have a like and a follow if you have a channel. Thanks.
Hi Axl - it is pretty much the same. The primary difference is the Hickory won't actually germinate until Spring. But, you won't see anything as it will produce the taproot before anything shows above the soil.
Beautiful tree. plant when you are young, as the growth rate even with fertilizer and full sun seems to be about 1 foot a year.
That has been my experience, roughly 1' per year.
Note to viewers. There are different cultivars of these trees for sale commercially. I ordered a Nielsen Shagbark that has a walnut size nut from Grimo nut nursery in Canada.
Shagbark hickory trees are a very important habitat for bats, a mammal vitally important for pest control and pollination.
Good point Salvia. I hadn't considered that.
Thanks for the video. I recently, as in today Feb 4, collected over 100 nuts. They have been on the ground and outside for the “winter” season. It looks like we a very short winter. But we did have a -15 c cold snap for over a week. I floated all the nuts but only got 5 that sank. Since all nuts were “winterized” could some of the floaters still be viable for planting?
Hi - it is possible they could germinate. I would try soaking them for a day or two and see if any more sink, or are even half-way suspended. And, you can still plant them, just know that it may not germinate.
The problem with nuts that dry out is that it will actually 'kill' the embryo. The same thing happens with Walnuts and Acorns. But, the float test isn't always 100% accurate, and if you rehydrate them, you may get some more to germinate.
can you make a video about the second speciesSouthern Live Oak
I would love to, but I would need to get down south to do some filming! But if I ever head that way for vacation, then I will for sure.
Thank you for the video. How deep are your pots, and how long can you keep a hickory in one of the pots (one season maybe)? I'm worried about the taproot getting too big for the pot.
Hi Lucian - my pots were 9" deep (22.8 cm). I would try to make sure they were planted by Summer if possible. There are other tree pots available that are even deeper (14", 16") - check at Green House Mega Store (that's where I got mine).
The sooner you can get them to the ground, the better. That is because the taproot will either be a bit stunted, or curl at the base of the pot.
@@growitbuildit Thanks very much for the info! Transplanting trees in TX outside of October - March is extremely risky (summer is brutal) so I will use deeper pots if I find a suitable nut source. Cheers!
Very helpful. One question from me---I live in Middle NC, I have a very prolific Hickory tree, lots of nuts dropped and the wildlife stays away because I have dogs that love to chase squirrels BUT it seems I need cold and our winters are not very cold and we have some days that the temps are like spring. Will that factor impede getting some of my seeds from developing? I would really love to reproduce my hickory, it's huge and probably really old.
Hi - it is hardy to USDA zone 8, which includes all of NC. So they should grow naturally there.
But if you are worried about not getting enough stratification, you can do it in the refrigerator in a mix of 50/50 sphagnum peat moss and sand that is moist. I actually did this on some Black Walnuts, which have a similar protocal. You could do this after collecting nuts and testing for viability. Then just toss them in the ridge for 4 months or so, and check periodically if they get mold.
But you can see what I did to Walnuts here - czcams.com/video/DCwybrGFIrQ/video.html
How do you prevent mold from forming during the 4 months in the refrigerator? Would adding cinnamon powder help?
Hi - the cinnamon would likely help, and would be a good idea. But the big thing I believe is not getting it too wet. That, plus the cold temperatures should keep it in check.
@@growitbuildit Cinnamon does not help if it is too wet. The paper towel should be barely damp (squeeze it very well until the last drop of water comes off of it). This is the key.
i collected some hickory nuts about 2 months ago (begininng of august) they were green when i found them not they are brown, can i still plant them?
If they are viable (float test), I would try to plant them. Also, soak them for 24 hours before planting.
What direction do the nuts get planted?
I just lay them down sideways. The root will come out one of the ends, and it will grow just fine.
What type of soil do hickory trees like? How much water do they need ? How far apart should you plant them? How deep? Maybe you answered the depth question 2 to 4 inches for nut without tap root?
All your questions can be answered in the table here - growitbuildit.com/shagbark-hickory-carya-ovata/#facts
Ok, so here is my joy and my conundrum... I have just outside my backdoor an approximate 89-year-old Shagbark Hickory tree which provides a ton of shade, but we're constantly tripping over dropped nuts from early September onward until they're done dropping or wildlife has picked it clean. I also don't seem to have any problem with getting new saplings as the squirrels and chipmunks in our yard are burying a lot of the whole nuts every year for their later use and then forgetting where they are hiding them. My problem usually is that they bury them in my raised garden beds and my front flower gardens which is currently a pain until I can come up with a fix. Last year they decided to hide not only a hickory nut under my oldest rhubarb plant but also hid it seems a Sugar Maple nut along with an Oak nut underneath my Rose-of-Sharon bush. Not to mention all of the saplings I am finding around the property of Hickory, Black Walnut, Sugar Maple, Cottonwood, Dogwood, and so many more, including a particular nut tree that I am still trying to identify. I don't want to lose my rhubarb as it is the only one that survived this last winter so I am going to attempt to divide it and plant new crowns in my new beds this coming year. I love having all of these trees but I rent my property and I want to keep these saplings to plant on a property that I am hoping to find in our price range in the coming year. My landlord already has her eyes on the Sugar Maples to take to her property if she can get them from me which is not likely. If you have any advice I sure could use some. Thank you for this short little video you've shared. May God always Bless you with good health, safety, and prosperity in all you do. Thank you so much. ~SuzyJC-in-Central-Southeastern-Ohio_09.20.2023~
Hi Suzy - it is possible to store/over winter saplings in containers. The key is not letting the container completely dry out, and not letting it freeze solid. But your biggest problem will be the tap-roots. Most of those trees have a deep taproot (Hickory/Walnut/Oak) and will want deep pots. But, it will likely be possible, but the key is to transplant to a container early before the taproot gets too deep. The best advice I can give you is to dig deeply, trying to remove most of the root, transplant to a deep pot, don't let it freeze, make sure it doesn't completely dry out....and hope for the best.
Hi Joe, thank you for the much-needed advice, it may be too late for those saplings with long tap roots as they are already beginning their second winter. What we are planning to do in the early part of spring is to try and dig a very large hole around the ones that are entangled in our rhubarb crown (I believe it is already a big loss) and try to get both the maple and the shagbark out without damaging them as they are still small. As for the oak that seems to be growing out from under the Rose-of-Sharon, we have decided because it is already so large that our landlord has given permission to remove them both. If we can save the oak, but get it away from the house's foundation it will be great, but if not I am not sure what if anything at all could be done to save it. As for the Rose-of-Sharon, she has already sent out her tubers and created several other trees around the yard as she is the mother plant. I love the fact that she blooms both white and lavender flowers but her offspring do also, which basically means that in order to detangle them from each other, we are risking losing them both. I have noticed many other saplings around the property which I have yet to identify and if possible will be potting up as many of them as we can in order to move them to a more permanent place. By any chance do you know anything about "White Mulberry?" We have one that the critters buried one of their seeds next to the house (again, too close) and I have cut it down almost to a stump but it keeps returning with vigor now for the 2nd year. Again, another tree I would not mind that the critters brought to the property if only they would not bury the seeds so close to the foundation. I did happen to notice you were using rooting pots, can you tell me where you were able to get them? I've looked everywhere locally and no one seems to even know what I am trying to describe to them. Again, thank you for your advice and I'll let you know how everything goes in the spring. May God always Bless you and your wife with good health, safety, and prosperity in all you do.
@suzycowan5072 for your mulberry, do this, and paint it quickly after cutting. czcams.com/video/gFcUHq4SjXs/video.html
Is this roughly the same for all hickory species?
Hi Parker - it should be the same for all North American Hickory species
I have Carya ovata. I just checked it but no nuts yet. It’s 9/5/22. I have many squirrels and chipmunks in my yard, so I don’t plan to collect any nuts. I can’t even plant sunflowers.
The squirrel pressure on the nuts is insane. There are many large trees where I go foraging for Pawpaws, but I rarely even see a Hickory nut.
I harvested six, 80 ounce pickle jars full last year and froze each batch for about 48 hours to kill any worms. Think they might still be viable for planting despite the freezing?
Hi Bob - since the nuts were frozen for 48 hours, I doubt they are viable. I would try to harvest some more nuts if you are able.
Which way does the seed go it's got a pony part on one end silly question I am unsure
Not a silly question! Just lay it on it's side. The nut will figure it out from there!
I plan to use a dibble and plant husk and all in a fence row, so they won't be mown. Will I be wasting my time?
I'm sorry - I don't understand what you mean by dibble / and plant husk.
I see a LOT of nuts planted there... do you sell young trees, and where can I order a few?
Hi David - I grew most of those for a friend who is reforesting his property. I don't sell trees/nuts.
The bark is very good for Barbeque smoking
I've used the wood, but never tried the bark.
@@growitbuildit We have one tree on our property here in N.E. Ohio. Ive used so much bark Im afraid Im going to hurt the tree. The whole bottom 6 foot has no shag but the briskets were to die for.
03:21
How long does it take for a tree to produce nuts? I know some take many,many years. Thanks.
They will begin producing nuts in as little as 10 years. However, most references say they won't produce large quantities until 20-40. Unfortunately trees are quite an investment in time!
@@growitbuildit oh ok. Better plant it soon then. Lol. Thanks for that info. I've been wanting to grow some Hazel Nuts as well. Would they be in about the same time frame? I'll be ordering some Shagbark Hickory and Spice bush seeds this weekend. Super excited to start growing these and have some on my property. I may be ordering other seeds this weekend as well.🤣🤣🤣. Thanks for all of the helpful info and advice. Really enjoy your channel and the delivery of your knowledge all the best to you and yours in 2024.
Hi, this method will work for most tree nuts. Soaking in water 24 hours prior to sowing help, and make sure they don't freeze solid!
@@growitbuildit ok good to know thank you. Cheers.
I have like 4 or 5 of these trees on my property. I had no idea that people wanted these. There's so many nuts in my yard, it is like walking on marbles.
That's a lot of free protein lying on the ground!
haha!@@growitbuildit I literally have never eaten them. If I'm still living here next year I'll give it a try. Sadly too late to get good ones.
I think I have that tree but it's young. No nuts yet! Only about 10 ft tall. Limbs drape over.
It will take time before nuts are produced. But if you have one, that probably means there is another tree in the area.
Yesterday (10-1-22) I float tested all 70 or so nuts that I collected in the last week of August. All the nuts were found on the forest floor from at least 5 different shagbarks over a large area. They were all in their green or browning husk when collected. Most appeared to be in good condition after removing the husk. As of this morining (12 hours in the drink), none of them have sunk in the water. All are still floating. Should none of them be considered viable?
Hi BC - I would pop a few open and take a look. If the nut meat is very thin, then it probably isn't viable. If it looks like a fully (and tasty) nut meat, then they might be ok.
I don't know where you are located, but in PA we have had a very severe drought this year. I believe that has had a huge effect on viability. For reference, I gathered a large number of nuts this year, and the one's I've tested have almost all floated, and the meats were mal-formed or thin. I probably only had 5-10% sink.
@@growitbuildit Thanks for that prompt response!
I am located right on top of Detroit. Our summer here was noticably hotter than usual and a bit dryer -- but not drought -level. My hickory experience is quite limited. I cracked open two nuts and compared the size of the meat to that of a "typical" nut based on internet images. My conclusion was that the meat of those nuts was probably smaller than typical. However, not clearly lacking.
With my time constraints, having already soaked the nuts, and no reasonable means of collecting more this season, I decided to go ahead and plant them. With no garage, I planted them in a raised bed in the back yard and covered in hardware cloth. My tentative plan here is to pot them some time next summer -- that is, assuming I get any sprouts out of these questionable nuts. Hopefully I will remember to report back to you on that. I'm hoping to pot them before the taproot becomes too established to be disturbed.
Sounds good. I would definitely be interested in hearing your results.
If you get germination, it shouldn't be a problem to dig them up right away after you notice emergence. The root will form well before anything pops out of the ground. Just try to be vigilant.
Good luck!
@@growitbuildit Ok, 8 months later for a progress report. I wound up planting just about 50 of the nuts. As I previously mentioned, none of them had "passed" the float test. That is, none of them sunk. Just as I was about to write them off in late May, I noticed the first shoot popping up. A few days later, another - and so on. I'll still keep my eyes open for late-bloomers, but at the moment I have 19 saplings - a 38% success rate. I transplanted them into tall, narrow pots (similar to yours in the vid) 3 days ago and they are looking healthy. I have them grouped in short buckets to keep them upright (crappy, narrow, super-flimsy Amazon pots) and each bucket is protected by a hardware cloth "shield" to keep the squirrel army at bay.
My next dilemma is this: I intend to give the majority of these saplings to friends. However, I know that most people, my friends included, are not quite as diligent at keeping these things alive as you or I. That being said, I figured it may be best to give the trees time to become a bit larger and more hardy. I hate to keep picking your brain, but do you think these sapling have to be planted before winter? Could they survive a winter outdoors in larger pots? Say, a foot tall and almost as wide?
Hi, I had just been researching the float test. Most papers found it to be an effective screening but it's accuracy could be improved by soaking the nuts for 24 hrs prior.
But to answer your question, I think they could survive the winter. The key being don't let them freeze solid. So keep them outside until temps are frequently well below freezing. Then move them into an unheated garage or shed during coldest parts of winter. Also, don't let them completely dry out. But you shouldn't need to add water but a few times. Just pick up pots to check weight.
The tap roots have been difficult for me so far to grow them.
How have they been difficult Justice?
@@growitbuildit well I can’t put them in ground yet as I’m in an apartment for a year so it was perhaps over zealous of me to try to grow them, but I’m worried the taproots are going to be too long or get coiled up in the tree starter pots and cause damage to them later
It will stunt the roots
Adult Shagbark and Shellbark Hickory trees provide Summer roosts for the endangered Indiana Bat and nesting for the Brown Creeper bird. Planting these near your favorite fishing spot may eventually result in reduced mosquito and moth populations.
That is good to know Mark. I have plenty of bats in my area already, and do love the fact that they take care of a bunch of insects.
They also create a giant mess every June through December with the nuts. I hate theses trees with a passion. I have 8 that are being cut down next week.
@@ethanholmes3998wow. Are you the grinch or something?
@@JustMeHere291 Do you have these trees in your backyard? STFU!
I broke open a clean perfect hickory nut with no holes, and there still was a grub on the plate.
Wow - I've not seen that happen
There are over 100 shagbark hickory trees on my 2 acre lot thanks to squirrels that bury the nuts..
That is a lot of free protein!
🍁🪶👍❤
Thank you! I'm very happy you enjoyed it.
p͎r͎o͎m͎o͎s͎m͎ 💋