Common Walnut

Juglans regia

L. Species

Botanical name: Juglans regia
Also known as: Common Walnut, Common-Walnut, Walnut, Walnut-Tree
Family: Juglandaceae
Genus: Juglans
Flowering period: May to June
Height: 15–20 m
Spread: 12–20 m
Hardiness: Fully hardy (RHS H6)
Reference: World Flora Online

How to grow Common Walnut

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight

Full sun

Watering

Low once established; water young trees in dry summers

Soil

Deep, fertile, free-draining; dislikes shallow or waterlogged ground

Soil pH

Neutral to alkaline

Planting

Needs deep soil and a large, sheltered site. Late spring frosts damage the emerging leaves and destroy that year's crop, so avoid frost pockets and low-lying ground. Plant in autumn or early spring and stake young trees well.

Pruning

Prune only in late summer, between July and September — walnut bleeds badly if cut in winter or spring. Keep pruning to a minimum and aim to build a clear trunk and open crown early.

Propagation

Sow nuts fresh in autumn, protected from mice and squirrels. Named fruiting cultivars are grafted and crop years sooner than a seedling.

Pests and diseases

Walnut leaf blotch causes brown patches on leaves and shells. Squirrels take the crop while it is still green and are usually the real obstacle to ever harvesting any.

Value to wildlife

Modest. Squirrels, rooks and jays take the nuts, sometimes all of them.

Notes

Seedling trees can take fifteen years or more to crop; a grafted cultivar is much quicker. Walnut roots produce juglone, which suppresses some other plants, so choose underplanting with that in mind.

Some structured details on this page (such as tolerances, pH and hardiness) come from USDA PLANTS Database (public domain). The written guidance is GardenDecoded's own, researched as described in our editorial policy.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Juglans regia but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Juglans arguta Juglans aspleniifolia Juglans dissecta Juglans duclouxiana Juglans fallax Juglans fertilis Juglans filicifolia Juglans frutescens Juglans fruticosa Juglans heterophylla Juglans kamaonia Juglans laciniata Juglans longirostris Juglans monophylla Juglans orientis Juglans pendula Juglans praematuriens Juglans quercifolia Juglans regia f. fruticosa Juglans regia f. heterophylla Juglans regia f. laciniata Juglans regia f. monophylla Juglans regia f. pendula Juglans regia f. praematuriens Juglans regia lus. heterophylla Juglans regia lus. laciniata Juglans regia subsp. fallax Juglans regia subsp. sinensis Juglans regia subsp. turcomanica Juglans regia unranked asplenifolia Juglans regia unranked heterophylla Juglans regia unranked laciniata Juglans regia unranked pendula Juglans regia var. angulosa Juglans regia var. beloudschistana Juglans regia var. corcyrensis Juglans regia var. depressa Juglans regia var. dissecta Juglans regia var. filicifolia Juglans regia var. fragilis Juglans regia var. kamaonia Juglans regia var. longifolia Juglans regia var. maxima Juglans regia var. monophylla Juglans regia var. oblonga Juglans regia var. racemosa Juglans regia var. serotina Juglans regia var. sinensis Juglans regia var. tenuifolia Juglans regia var. tenuissima Juglans salicifolia Juglans sinensis Regia maxima

Others in Juglans

Juglans × bixbyi

Juglans × notha

Juglans australis

Juglans boliviana

Juglans californica

Southern California Walnut

Juglans cinerea

White Walnut

Juglans hindsii

Hinds's Walnut

Juglans hirsuta

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.