Shellbark |
| General |
| Common Name | Shellbark |
| Latin Name | Carya laciniosa |
| Category | Nuts |
| Family | Hickory |
| Variety | Fayette, Henry, CES 24 |
| Visual Traits |
| Flower | yellow, monoecious, April-June, wind pollinated |
| Foliage/Fall leaf color | Green |
| Fruit / Nut | fruit ripens Sep-Nov; largest of hickories, flat, cream colored, sweet, thick shell, difficult to extract |
| Height | 60-80' |
| Other valued traits | tool handles, furniture, cabinets, vaneer, fuelwood |
| Spread | oblong, slender |
| Cultivation |
| Grafting | more difficult to graft and bud than many fruit sp. |
| 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; coppicing, persistant sprouts following disturbance |
| Retail Source | Grimo's Nut Nursery, John Gordon's Nut Nursery |
| Seed harvest | Sep-Nov (Dec) |
| Seed treatment and storage | Cold stratification 90-120days |
| Seedling treatment | rapid taproot development relative to slow shoot development |
| Sowing seed | requires moist soil for germination and establishment; germinate late April to early June; best sown in cold frame for natural stratification; 1-2seeds deep, thin to best seedling |
| Transplant | difficult; transplant to permanent location first summer |
| Critters |
| Insect and invertebrate pests | many pests, none threatening |
| Pathogens | free of serious disease, host to many fungi |
| Wildlife Pests | Deer, squirrel |
| Soils |
| Fertility / quality | deep, fertile |
| Moisture and drainage | common to floodplains and bottomlands/tolerates seasonal flooding |
| pH | 6.4-7.4, neutral or slightly alkaline soils |
| Soils and topography | moist bottom lands; occasionally dry and sandy soils in northern part of range |
| Texture | heavy loams to silt loams, no heavy clay, tolerates dry sands in northern range |
| Growth Pattern |
| Good seed crop interval (fruit load) | every 2 years |
| Growth rate | very slow |
| Longevity | long |
| Root habit | long taproot, horizontal secondary roots perpendicular to taproot |
| Seed-bearing age /max production | 40y/75-200y; grafted trees may set nuts within 10y |
| Habitat and Climate |
| Fire tolerance | moderately tolerant; susceptible to bole injury; stump sprouts readily |
| Frost-free days (FFD) | 150-210 |
| Growing degree days (GDD) | 2250 |
| Hardiness Zone | 4-8 (6) (to zone 4: http://www.hickorytech.net/~enviros/dongordon0303.html) |
| Native Range | http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/species/laciniosa/laciniosa.htm |
| Rainfall / humidity | 30-58in |
| Wind / ice / frost susceptibility | resistant to snow and ice; suscpetible to frost damage |
| Light |
| Light recommendation | partial shade; responds well to release, but heavy release may cause epicormic branching |
| Shade tolerance | very tolerant |
| Vegetation Associations |
| Competitive ability | strong competitor, although growth is slow in very deep shade |
| Indicator species and associated forest | mixed hardwood; Bur Oak Forest, Swamp Chestnut OakCherrybark Oak forests (South) |
| Special Notes |
| Note 1 | Species key: http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/species/idspecsp.htm |
| Note 2 | hybridizes with Pecan (C. illinoensis) and Shagbark (C. ovata) |
