Walnut trees naturally grow very tall - often up to 25, sometimes even up to 30 meters, with a crown diameter of up to 15 meters. Now there are hobby gardeners who would like to grow a walnut but don't have enough space for the enormous dimensions. So you ask yourself whether you can keep a walnut tree small. We'll get to the bottom of the matter in this post.
How can I keep a walnut tree small?
To keep a walnut tree small, you should choose dwarf varieties such as 'Europa', which only grow to around 3.5 meters tall. Radical cutting or bonsai cultivation are not recommended as they shorten the tree's lifespan and make it susceptible to disease.
Keeping walnut trees small through constant cutting?
“If I regularly cut back my walnut heavily from a certain age – then theoretically it should be able to be cultivated small, right?”
This or similar are the posts on the topic in tree forums.
However, we must strongly advise against wild pruning. The walnut tree generally only responds to radical pruning with increased budding.
Rule of thumb: The more radically you cut your walnut, the more the large root pumps the stubs full of plant juices. As a result, new shoots emerge wherever possible. In some cases there are too many shoots that are then too close together, which ultimately attracts plant diseases because the leaves of the tree cannot dry well.
In addition, ongoing radical cuts have an unfavorable effect on the lifespan of your walnut tree. This means that the tree dies much earlier than usual.
In short: radical cutting is definitely NOT an option to keep a walnut small.
Cultivate a walnut tree as a bonsai?
Most experts speak out clearly against cultivating a walnut tree as a bonsai. This method of keeping small can also increase susceptibility to disease and shorten the lifespan of the tree. In principle, the bonsai variant is even more justifiable than radical cutting.
The only sensible solution: dwarf varieties of walnut
In addition to these half-baked and sometimes extremely harmful practices, there is fortunately also a he althy solution for keeping a walnut tree smaller: Decide on the appropriate variety right from the start.
There are now also dwarf varieties of walnut trees. One of them is called 'Europe' and, according to breeders, will only grow to around 3.5 meters high.
Such dwarf varieties are breedings that are grafted onto weak rootstocks and therefore only produce the smallest trees.
Note: As far as we know, among the “classic” walnuts, the ‘Weinsberger Walnut’ is the variety that requires the least space. Their crown diameter normally does not exceed seven to eight meters.
