Juglans Regia, Walnut, Akhrot - 0.5 kg Seeds

English or Persian Walnut (Juglans regia), the Akhrot, is a large, long-lived temperate deciduous tree grown for its rich, edible nuts and its highly prized, beautifully grained timber. It forms a broad, spreading crown of aromatic compound leaves and is one of the most valuable trees of the Indian Himalaya.

In India it is cultivated and found wild in the cool, temperate hill tracts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, needing winter chilling and deep, well-drained soils. The nutritious nuts and their oil are an important hill-economy crop, the walnut wood is sought for furniture and carving, and the bark and leaves have traditional medicinal and dyeing uses.

• Family: Juglandaceae
• Native region: temperate Asia (Himalaya to Balkans)
• Mature height: 18–30 m
• Growth rate: moderate

Walnut seed is dormant and needs cold-moist stratification: soak the nuts a day or two, then chill them in moist sand at about 2–5 °C for roughly 8–12 weeks (or sow in autumn so winter does it naturally). Sow the stratified nuts about 5–8 cm deep, on their side, in deep pots or directly in well-drained ground. Germination follows in spring as the soil warms, typically taking 30 days or more, and the deep-rooting seedlings are best transplanted young.