We Grow From SeedGolden Bough Tree Farm

NUT TREES

HAZEL

I am inclined to envy my ancestors for their hazel nut harvest. Whole families used to take to the woods, camping, cooking out, collecting hessian sacks of nuts for sale to bakers.
- Ralph Whitlock, Manchester Guardian

Corylus avellena X
HAZEL FILBERT Z3/3m
We cross the large-nut European Filbert with American Hazel to increase frost hardiness. Though shade tolerant, Hazels in full sun produce a dense multi-stemmed clump; a food-laden screen. Uninvasive roots. Plant as close as 3m to enhance pollination.

HICKORY

Carya ovata
SHAGBARK HICKORY Z4?/17m
Distinguished shade tree with shaggy bark. Rarely offered because of lengthy tap root. Named PocoHicora for the rich milk Indians extracted from the crushed nuts by boiling. Nuts attractive to wildlife. A fine Shagbark Hickory can be seen on John A. MacDonald's lawn in Kingston, ON.

Carya laciniosa
SHELLBARK HICKORY Z4?/18m
Though native to rich, lowland soils from S.W. Ontario to Iowa, these handsome giants flourish on our glacial till. Sometimes called Kingnut, its variable seed can be as large as walnuts and just as edible. Beautiful leaves and buds. Likes water nearby and will even tolerate seasonal flooding.

EDIBLE CHESTNUT

Castanea x dentata
AMERICAN HYBRID CHESTNUT Z4b/16m
Destroyed in the late 19th century by an imported blight, the magnificent American Chestnut can now survive only when crossed with its blight resistant Asian cousin. The resulting hybrid, a sparkling ornamental, gives a generous supply of large edible nuts protected by a bristly, squirrel-proof casing. The re-emergence of this tree could prove economically and spiritually significant.

OAK

Quercus macrocarpa

Quercus macrocarpa
BUR OAK Z2b/16m
Hardier form of White Oak. Perhaps the largest of the original hardwoods remaining in Eastern Canada. Tolerant of pollution & varied soils. Survives Maritime damp and Prairie temperatures where its corky bark insulates it from grass fires. Rugged bole & convoluted limbs impart an elemental or Old Man of the Woods appearance.

Quercus rubra
NORTHERN RED OAK Z4/19m
Official tree of P.E.I. Fastest growing of northern oaks. High arching & clean limbed. European landscape architects use more Red Oak than any other of our native trees. Often found in pure stands throughout Toronto's marvelous ravine system. Attractive shade tree. Transplants well.

WALNUT

Streams are the blood veins of a mountain, the vegetation its hair, the clouds & mists its expression.
Kuo Hsi, 13th Century The Great Message of Forests

Juglans nigra
BLACK WALNUT Z3?/19m ‡
Vigorous, stately ornamental combining valuable lumber with an edible nut. Deep root system thrives in moist well-drained loam. The foliage attracts the luna moth. Intolerant of full shade. Golden Bough now enjoys a small walnut plantation started in 1974.

Juglans cinerea X Juglans ailantifolia
BUARTNUT Z4/13m
The Mitchell form is a vigorous hybrid between Butternut and the less hardy Asian Heartnut. A heavy bearer of highly edible, easy-to-crack nuts. Disease resistant and fast growing.

CHESTNUT

Aesculus (Flowers) Aesculus hippocastanum
HORSE CHESTNUT Z4b/12m
Largest of our flowering trees. Its glistening 'conkers' were once fed to horses to increase their stamina. Though native to Anatolia, our seedlings come from the furthest north Horse Chestnut we know. Tall variety: Produces large candelabras of flowers every year. Outgrows southern stock.

Aesculus glabra (Nuts)

Aesculus glabra
OHIO BUCKEYE Z2b/9m
The hardiest and fastest growing of nut trees. Vigorous even on the prairies. Its dense round head gives heavy shade or screening. Large waxy buds, pale yellow flowers. Fruits early in life. Fallen Buckeyes are second only to apples as our sheep's favourite autumn food.

Aesculus octandra in bloom

The flower candles and large drooping leaves of the stately Yellow Buckeye.

Aesculus octandra
YELLOW BUCKEYE Z3b/13m
 Appalachian native. Largest of the Buckeyes, the genus named for the white spot or 'deer eye' at the nut's base. Soft yet strong wood. Flowers variable, yellow to pink in big clusters. Specimens at Mt. Vernon were planted by George Washington.

Aesculus pavia
DWARF RED BUCKEYE Z4/5m
Open, wide-spreading small tree or shrub. Produces red flowers and small nut capsules. From S. Appalachia. Frost hardy but rare in the north.

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