”Heartnut” walnut (Lat. Juglans ailantifolia / cordiformis) comes from Japan. The name “Heartnut” is directly related to the shape of the fruit. If you compare the fruits of walnut and heartnut walnut, then the second has a much sweeter taste.
The heartnut walnut is a deciduous tree that gives valuable fruits and is very decorative, therefore it is often used for landscaping parks. The tree on average reaches a height of 12-15 meters, and its crown can reach up to 10 meters in diameter.

   The trunk is covered with gray bark. The leaves are very large, their length can reach 1 meter. The composition of one leaf includes 10-15 leaflets with a width of about 50 mm and a length of up to 180 mm. 

   It is a monoecious tree, which means that both female and male flowers are located on one plant. It blooms in the last days of May. In this case, the beginning of flowering coincides with the moment of disclosure of leaf plates.

   Fruits are clustered in groups of 7-12 pieces, which form clusters. The green oblong fruits have a sharp tip. Their length is about 50 mm, but in diameter, they reach up to 40 mm. The core occupies about 30 percent of the fruit’s total mass. The fruits fully ripen in the first weeks of autumn. Like the walnut, the heart-shaped walnut fruit has a high nutritional value, however, it is much tastier.

   The life span of such a tree can reach 200 years. An adult tree (over 20 years old) gives 100-120 kilograms of fruit. At the same time, the yield from 1 hectare can reach 7500 kilograms of fruits.

   The heart-shaped walnut itself is incredibly fast-growing. With proper moisture and protection from competition of weeds, it can grow up to one and a half meters per year. Heart-shaped walnut is distinguished by very high resistance to frost. It is not afraid of lowering temperatures up to – 38 degrees. Thanks to this, this plant is very popular in Canada and the northern part of the United States. Today, thanks to breeders, there are a large number of different varieties of heartnut walnut trees, however, most of the varieties were bred in Canada.

   When growing heartnut trees, it should be remembered that it is well pollinated by other types of nuts, for example, walnut and Manchurian nuts, so if this type of nut grows on the site, both heart-shaped nuts and various hybrids may appear.

   The heart-shaped walnut prefers sunny places, young seedlings need moist soil. But when watering, you need to make sure that there is no stagnation of water. The tree tolerates drought more easily than excess moisture.

   The soil should be neutral, light, and absorbent. If the soil is heavy, good drainage should be done in the planting hole. For the first two years, protection from frost, wind, and animals is desirable for young seedlings.