When to plant walnuts in Basrah

Why these dates

Plant dormant. Walnut leafs out late, which conveniently protects it from spring frost, but the nuts then need a long warm autumn to fill. Grafted named varieties bear years earlier than a seedling and are worth the extra cost.

The dormant tree is hardy to about -25C. The late leafing means frost damage to new growth is rare, which is unusual among nut trees.

Walnuts are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Basrah is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Basrah sits in zone 10a, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

One caution specific to warm climates: this crop needs roughly 700 hours below 7.2°C (45°F) over winter before it will flower properly, and the coldest month in Basrah averages 12.7°C (54.9°F). Low-chill varieties exist for exactly this situation and are worth seeking out by name.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 6, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Basrah →