Butternut
Juglans cinerea
AKA - White Walnut, Oil Nut
Butternuts in Delaware are almost extinct in their pure form due to a canker disease that has effectively wiped them out. However, they readily hybridize with Japanese Walnut to form resistant hybrids. Pollinating a first generation hybrid back to the pure butternut can give you a resistant Butternut with most characteristics still leaning to the Butternut side. You’ll notice this is a lot like the story with the American Chestnut, but the difference is that hybridization to find canker resistance actually works.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are reports of a few pure trees that seem to resist the canker more than others. Efforts are underway across the country to breed this disease resistance within pure Butternut trees in order to keep their purity and hopefully develop their innate resistance to the level that they can survive and thrive in the wild.
We have collected many sources of Butternuts, ranging from trees from pure research stands, to possibly pure wild Butternuts from the Midwest and East Coast, to hybrid seeds that range from almost completely pure to well hybridized. The known pure stock are from managed USDA conservation orchards, employing pure grafted butternut trees to conserve genetics.
The hybrid seed are not sold in the Native Tree Store at this time.
***** Please note
PURE Butternut trees WILL one day fall to the canker disease, or at least be severely disabled by it. The goal of planting these trees is to keep pure Butternut genetics within the Delaware Valley region.
LIMIT 1 PER HOUSEHOLD
Juglans cinerea
AKA - White Walnut, Oil Nut
Butternuts in Delaware are almost extinct in their pure form due to a canker disease that has effectively wiped them out. However, they readily hybridize with Japanese Walnut to form resistant hybrids. Pollinating a first generation hybrid back to the pure butternut can give you a resistant Butternut with most characteristics still leaning to the Butternut side. You’ll notice this is a lot like the story with the American Chestnut, but the difference is that hybridization to find canker resistance actually works.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are reports of a few pure trees that seem to resist the canker more than others. Efforts are underway across the country to breed this disease resistance within pure Butternut trees in order to keep their purity and hopefully develop their innate resistance to the level that they can survive and thrive in the wild.
We have collected many sources of Butternuts, ranging from trees from pure research stands, to possibly pure wild Butternuts from the Midwest and East Coast, to hybrid seeds that range from almost completely pure to well hybridized. The known pure stock are from managed USDA conservation orchards, employing pure grafted butternut trees to conserve genetics.
The hybrid seed are not sold in the Native Tree Store at this time.
***** Please note
PURE Butternut trees WILL one day fall to the canker disease, or at least be severely disabled by it. The goal of planting these trees is to keep pure Butternut genetics within the Delaware Valley region.
LIMIT 1 PER HOUSEHOLD
Juglans cinerea
AKA - White Walnut, Oil Nut
Butternuts in Delaware are almost extinct in their pure form due to a canker disease that has effectively wiped them out. However, they readily hybridize with Japanese Walnut to form resistant hybrids. Pollinating a first generation hybrid back to the pure butternut can give you a resistant Butternut with most characteristics still leaning to the Butternut side. You’ll notice this is a lot like the story with the American Chestnut, but the difference is that hybridization to find canker resistance actually works.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that there are reports of a few pure trees that seem to resist the canker more than others. Efforts are underway across the country to breed this disease resistance within pure Butternut trees in order to keep their purity and hopefully develop their innate resistance to the level that they can survive and thrive in the wild.
We have collected many sources of Butternuts, ranging from trees from pure research stands, to possibly pure wild Butternuts from the Midwest and East Coast, to hybrid seeds that range from almost completely pure to well hybridized. The known pure stock are from managed USDA conservation orchards, employing pure grafted butternut trees to conserve genetics.
The hybrid seed are not sold in the Native Tree Store at this time.
***** Please note
PURE Butternut trees WILL one day fall to the canker disease, or at least be severely disabled by it. The goal of planting these trees is to keep pure Butternut genetics within the Delaware Valley region.
LIMIT 1 PER HOUSEHOLD
Seed Sources
Batch from U.S. Forest Service’s grafted pure butternut research (Ecotype IN 8.3.2)
These trees are grown from seeds from the U.S. Forest Service’s research stands. They are pure Butternut trees that have been selected for their increased natural canker resistance. However, they are only resistant, not immune. Expect these trees to get some form of canker over the course of their life. However, in the time that you have them planted, they will be spreading much needed native pollen around our area (as well as provide you with a fantastic bounty of delicious nuts!)
Batches from project Delaware Butternuts Search and Rescue
These are not yet available. Expect after 2026 at the earliest. Contact the nursery to join the wishlist.
