Filberts
Ackerman, Brag, Comet, Craig, Holder, Petoka, Carey, Baroka, Barcelona, Bawdin, Firstoka (Gellatly No. 1). These have made a good showing, as the majority of the trees or bushes under 4 to 6 inch crown diameter of these varieties, are doing well and carrying good crops, while many above these diameters suffered in varying degrees from slightly to severely, apparently regardless of variety, location, or soil on which they grew. It may be noted that all these varieties have been hardy in the past, but age was adding up and age evidently had somewhat to do with their inability to take the punishment they got this past winter. For all my large Bing and Lambert cherry trees were severely injured or entirely winter killed, as were nearby peaches, apricots, pear, and some apple trees, particularly in the larger sizes, while many of these younger trees were uninjured, except that they are fruitless this season.
Soft Shell Walnuts
(Juglans regia)
Broadview variety on Gellatly Farm, of 20 bearing trees, all suffered winter injury for first time in 20 years. This injury varied all the way from freezing back two to three feet of all higher branches and twigs, to an actual loss of one-third to two-thirds of entire tree and trunk. At date of writing all are staging a good comeback with no care but a "wait-and-see" policy as to final treatment. There was so much loss as to involve too much work if pruning and after care of sprouts were undertaken. It was decided to leave the dead limbs and branches as a protection to the fast growing new sprouts, which, without this protection, would probably have been badly damaged by wind and rain storms. Even large birds lighting on these new sprouts might break them down.
The dead limbs will be gradually removed later, as the new limbs harden up and take over. Many of these will be left as supports for at least two years, when I expect most of these trees will be back in production, if we get a return to normal (minus 10° F.) winters, many will produce in 1951, as the new wood is showing a good growth of catkins. Although all bearing trees on my place were injured, the younger trees in my nursery were not hurt to any noticeable extent. At Summerland Experimental Station, 25 miles south of Gellatly, grow two large Broadview walnut trees supplied by myself. I had grafted on these black walnut roots (~J. nigra~) at the ground line, in every respect like my own. These trees are carrying a good crop. One shows slight winter injury, the other none at all. The official low for their location was 22° below F. with nearby unofficials to 30° below.
Their present location is at least 200 feet above lake level, and on very well drained sandy loam. Mine are about 30 feet above the lake and on somewhat heavier loam. I note that trees on my more gravelly soil came through in the best shape at official-22° F., unofficial 24 to 28 below. My Broadview that made best survival had grown the previous year in a chicken yard. Ground was well scratched over and droppings incorporated in top 4 inches of soil. Tree was flood irrigated three or four times in dry season. On this tree only outer new branches were killed and tree gives every indication of being back in crop in 1951 season.
The crop record on this tree is from 1945 and reads '45—35 pounds; '46—75 pounds; '47—91 pounds; '48—36 pounds; '49—100 pounds. Weight is for clean, undried, and partly dried nuts at time of picking up. Some of the other Broadview trees have higher crop records, although of same age and size, with possibly a bit better soil, in same grove. One tree in six years, '44 to '49 inclusive, had an average of 74 pounds per year; another had an average for the same years of 104 pounds per year. Just recently I made a special trip to see how the parent Broadview tree had wintered. I found it had sustained severe damage to two-thirds of the upper part of the trunk and main branches. The lower third was staging a good comeback, despite unofficials of 35 to 40 below zero F. as reported by neighboring farmers.
The following varieties of soft shell bearing walnut trees were also winter injured: Munsoka, badly, top two-thirds of trunk; Linoka, badly, top two-thirds of trunk; Myoka (Jumbo type) one-third of top branches; Geloka (Jumbo type) frozen to ground line but sprouts two feet high now growing. On Sirdar (a Jumbo type long nut), only outer tips of branches were killed. This was a surprise to me, as it is a second generation seedling of Italian source. The parent tree grew and cropped well for many years on bench land at Sirdar, in southern interior of B. C. until the winter of 1935-36, when it was so badly damaged that the owner had it removed. I rather looked for a similar fate in this one. There is this difference: mine was not as old nor had it been cropping heavily as yet. The season here is barely long enough to develop fully the kernels of Sirdar.
Crath Carpathian Walnut No. 46