Shagbark Hickory

Site and soil

Shagbark hickory wants full sun, and it wants room. We list it at up to 75 ft tall and up to 40 ft across at maturity, and Iowa State University Extension puts the species at 70 to 80 ft tall and 30 to 40 ft wide. Plan for a tree of that scale even though it will be slow getting there.

It does best in deep, fertile, well-drained soil and prefers a slightly acid pH. It is adaptable across sand, loam and clay and tolerates some dryness once established, but it is an upland tree. Iowa State describes its home ground as upland, well-drained woodlands and rich, well-drained loam, so avoid a spot that stays wet. For the heavy, poorly drained clay that is common here in West Virginia, WVU Extension recommends planting into a raised bed about 12 inches above grade rather than digging a hole into soil that will hold water. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8.

Two siting notes before you dig. First, this is a messy tree by landscape standards: NC State Extension notes it drops ample litter of leaves and fruit, so keep it off patios, driveways and walkways. Second, the 8 to 12 ft plant spacing we list is a close agroforestry spacing for a group planting, not the final room a single mature tree needs. If this tree is meant to hold its spot for good, give it space to match that 40 ft spread.

Planting

Hickory sends down a deep taproot, and every source we checked agrees on what that means for you: it is difficult to transplant. NC State Extension, Illinois Extension and Iowa State Extension all say so plainly. The practical version is simple. Plant it where you want it the first time, get it into the ground promptly, keep the root ball intact, and do not plan on moving it in a few years.

Following WVU Extension's planting guidance: set the tree as deep as the height of the root ball, to the point where the roots start to flare, and no deeper. Backfill with the original soil you dug out, mixed with 20 to 30 percent compost or aged wood chips. Pour in a bucket of water or more as you fill, to push the air pockets out and put soil in contact with the roots. Finish with 3 to 4 inches of mulch over the root zone, held back about 2 inches from the trunk so the bark does not sit wet.

A slow tree is worth protecting while it is small. Penn State Extension reports that a 4 ft tree shelter prevents most deer browsing, that 5 ft shelters are recommended where snow is deep or deer pressure is severe, and that eastern hardwood seedlings usually take two to three growing seasons to grow out of a shelter and need another two to four years of support after that.

First-year care

Watering is most of the work in the first season. Penn State Extension's schedule for a newly planted tree runs daily for the first one to two weeks, every two to three days from week three through week twelve, then weekly until the first frost. Apply 1 to 1.5 gallons per inch of trunk diameter each time, spread across the whole root zone rather than poured at the trunk.

• Skip a watering only after a real soaking, roughly an inch or more of rain over 24 hours. A hard storm that drops the same inch in under an hour mostly runs off.
• Check instead of guessing: probe the root zone 6 to 9 inches down. Moist soil is easier to push a probe into than dry soil.
• Keep grass and weeds out of the mulch ring, and keep the mulch itself off the trunk.

Do not read slow top growth as failure. NC State Extension rates the growth rate of this species as slow, and Iowa State names that slow growth as a main reason the tree is seldom used in landscape plantings. A young shagbark that looks like it is doing nothing is usually just being a hickory.

Pruning

This tree asks very little of you here. Iowa State University Extension regards February through March as the best window for pruning most deciduous trees: the branch structure is easy to read with the leaves off, and the wound can begin walling itself off as soon as growth starts in spring.

In the early years, use a light hand. Pick a single central leader, and remove only what is dead, broken, or rubbing against another branch. Once the tree has real height on it, there is no routine pruning left to do.

NC State Extension reports no serious insect or disease problems on shagbark hickory, listing hickory bark beetle, pecan weevil and twig girdler as occasional ones. Illinois Extension adds fungal wood rots and twomarked treehoppers. On a healthy tree in a well-chosen spot, none of these is a reason not to plant.

Harvest

Harvest comes late in the season. NC State Extension puts the fruit display in October, and Iowa State gives seed dispersal dates of September through December, so the drop spreads over weeks rather than landing all at once. The husk does the telling: it starts green, turns deep brown, and splits open on its own when the nut inside is mature.

Gather from the ground, and gather often. The kernel is light tan, sweet and worth the trouble, and you are not the only one who knows it. Squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, deer, mice and woodpeckers are all working the same tree.

Be clear-eyed about the timeline. Seedlings take roughly 10 to 15 years to produce their first nuts, and full production arrives between 25 and 40 years. Both NC State Extension and Iowa State quote 40 years for nut production on this species, which reads as the age of reliable crops rather than the first handful.

Growing more from seed

Hickory nuts need a cold, moist period before they will germinate. Iowa State University Extension gives two routes: sow them 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches deep outdoors in the fall and let winter do the work, or hold them in a moist mix of sand and sphagnum peat moss at 33 to 40 degrees F for 90 to 120 days, then plant outdoors in spring.