California Walnuts | Essential Food for Health

Varieties

There are over 30 varieties of walnuts grown in California; however, two varieties—Chandler and Hartley—account for nearly 60 percent of total production. The top 10 varieties are described below.

Variety	Harvest Time	Tree Description	Nut Description (Note: Percent kernel refers to what percent of the total nut weight is kernel versus shell.)	Yield Potential	Pollinizers
Ashley	Early season	Tree size is medium with rounded shape. Heavy pruning is required when trees are young to avoid overbearing.	Produces medium to small nuts with very good shell seal. Nuts average 48% kernel with approximately 50% light grade color.	Yield potential is high to very high. Approximately 80-90% of the lateral buds on shoots are fruitful. Very productive variety.	Pedro and Chico
Chandler	Late season	Medium size tree is moderately vigorous, semi-upright, and highly productive.	Produces large, smooth oval nuts with fair to good shell seal and high quality kernel. Kernel color is excellent, light grade consistently 90% or better.	Has potentially high fruitfulness with 80-90% of lateral buds fruitful.	Cisco and Franquette
Franquette	Very late season	Large upright tree that requires little pruning.	Produces smaller nuts with good quality and a medium thin shell, good seal and light color.	Yield potential is fair because it is a terminal bearing variety.	Mayette and Meylan
Hartley	Late season	Tree size is moderate to large, moderately spreading with good vigor on fertile soil. Hartley trees need 40-45 foot spacing for mature trees.	Produces large, well sealed nuts with high percentage of light grade kernels, nearly 90%.	Yield potential is better than Franquette but only fair because it is a terminal bearing variety.	Cisco and Franquette
Howard	Mid-season	Tree size is small to medium and semi-upright with moderate vigor, which makes it a good candidate for high-density plantings.	Produces large, round nuts with a good seal. Kernel quality is excellent at 90% light. Kernel percentage is 50%.	Yield potential is excellent with over 80% of the lateral buds fruitful.	Cisco and Franquette
Payne	Early season	Tree size is medium with rounded shape. Heavy pruning is required when trees are young to avoid overbearing.	Produces medium to small nuts with very good shell seal. Nuts average 48% kernel with approximately 50% light grade.	Yield potential is high to very high. Approximately 80-90% of the lateral buds on shoots are fruitful. Very productive variety.	Pedro and Chico
Serr	Early to mid-season	Tree size is large and requires a spacing of at least 40 feet when mature. Shape is moderately spreading and vigor is good to excessive.	Nut size is large, with a good shell seal. Kernel is 60% light. Percentage of kernel is high at 59%.	Yield potential is high but this variety is susceptible to pistillate flower abscission (PFA). Application of Retain®, a growth regulator, has been shown to reduce PFA and increase yield.	Chico and Tehama
Tehama	Mid-season	Tree is large, somewhat upright and vigor is good. It is primarily used as a pollinizer for Serr.	Nut quality is good with 54% kernel and 70% are light colored. The shell and seal can be weak.	Yield potential is high with 80% lateral bud fruitfulness.	Amigo and Tulare
Tulare	Mid-season	Tree has upright growth habit; very vigorous.	The nut and kernel are large, with a well-sealed, nearly round nut.	Yield potential is very high with over 80% lateral bud fruitfulness.	Does not require a pollinizer
Vina	Mid-season	Tree size is small to medium; vigor is moderate to good and highly productive.	Produces medium size pointed nuts, with a good shell seal. Kernel color is good at 60% light with 48% kernel.	Yield potential is high with over 80% lateral bud fruitfulness.	Chico, Chandler, Howard and Tehama