Shagbark |
| General |
| Common Name | Shagbark |
| Latin Name | Carya ovata |
| Category | Nuts |
| Family | Hickory |
| Variety | |
| Visual Traits |
| Flower | yellow, monoecious, early June, with or after leaf emergence (5) |
| Foliage/Fall leaf color | yellow-brown |
| Fruit / Nut | fruit ripens Sep-Oct; smooth, thick husks, cream colored; deep brown before dehiscing; sweet |
| Height | 70-80 |
| Other valued traits | tool handles, sports gear, furniture, fuel wood |
| Spread | 35-50 |
| Cultivation |
| Cultivation and Mulching | mulch seeds for rodent protection |
| Pollination | many varieties may be self-incompatible, plant several to assure pollination |
| Propagation method | Grafts, seedlings used as rootstock |
| Pruning | only prune to establish height of lower limbs and prevent weak crotches; persistant sprouts following disturbance |
| Retail Source | site, retail |
| Seed harvest | Sep-Dec |
| Seed treatment and storage | Cold-moist stratification 90-120days at 37ºF, seeds from northern climates require longer stratification |
| Seedling treatment | rapid taproot development |
| Sowing seed | 50-75% germination, fall (no treatment) or spring (following stratification) |
| Transplant | difficult; transplant to permanent location first summer |
| Critters |
| Insect and invertebrate pests | many pests, few threatening; hickory bark beetle (Scolytus quadrispinosus) |
| Pathogens | hosts many fungi and diseases; few serious; Canker rot (Poria spiculosa), leaf rot, heart rot fungi, anthracnose (Gnomonia caryae), mildew (Micorstroma juglandis), bunch disease, crown gall (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) |
| Wildlife Pests | Deer, squirrel |
| Soils |
| Compaction (tolerance) | intermediate |
| Fertility / quality | tolerates wide range; sensitive to changes in fertility |
| Moisture and drainage | well-drained, moderately drought tolerant |
| pH | 4-6.7(slightly acid 6-6.5) |
| Salt tolerance | intolerant |
| Soils and topography | sloped uplands, mesic-dry (site varies across range), max 2000-3000 ft |
| Texture | loams; tolerates wide range |
| Growth Pattern |
| Good seed crop interval (fruit load) | 1-3y |
| Growth rate | slow growing |
| Longevity | long |
| Root habit | long taproot |
| Seed-bearing age /max production | 40y / 60-200y (fruit-set possible 10-15y with appropriate management; grafts on older trees as little as 3-4y) |
| Habitat and Climate |
| Fire tolerance | intolerant; stump sprouts readily; short fire interval favors oak |
| Frost-free days (FFD) | 140 |
| Growing degree days (GDD) | 2250 |
| Hardiness Zone | 4-8, hardiest of hickories |
| Native Range | http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/species/ovata/OVTDIST.GIF |
| Rainfall / humidity | prefers humid climates, adapted to wide range (30-80in annual/20-40in growing season) |
| Wind / ice / frost susceptibility | wind resistant on most sites |
| Light |
| Light recommendation | partial shade, responds well to release |
| Shade tolerance | moderately tolerant, very tolerant at pole stage |
| Vegetation Associations |
| Competitive ability | oaks and fast-growing upland species, disadvantaged in even-age stands with short rotations (slow-growth) |
| Indicator species and associated forest | mixed hardwood, oaks |
| Special Notes |
| Note 1 | Climate and soils vary widely througout range, info here is representative of northern part of range only, see reference |