Posted by Susan Mitchell on March 10, 2007

Q: A friend gave me some hickory nuts she's had stored for 15 years. Are they too old to germinate?

Thanks so much, Susan

State: Massachusetts

A: Good question. I'll bet there is someone "out there" that knows the answer to this but I don't. I do have some thoughts though so I'll share and hope it helps.

First off, I assume that the nuts are in the shell and have not be shelled. Right? Next, these nuts (seeds) need to be stratified which means they need to have been exposed to near-freezing temperatures for several weeks (6-8 weeks at least). Take a look at our unit on this very issue at: www.enaturalist.org If your friend has been keeping the nuts in her house all this time, for example, they won't be able to germinate, so let's hope they were in the garage where temp could get down to freezing. Of course, the big issue is whether the nuts can remain viable over the 15 years they've been stored. Seems very iffy to me that they could last this long - I wouldn't be very optimistic about them still being able to sprout even if all else is addressed but it would be very interesting to find out.

But...if your seeds have been stratified and the shells are still intact, I for one, would go for it! You've got nothing to lose by trying. You can use two approaches. 1. You can place them in the ground in an area where you'd like them to grow, or at least get started. This could even be in a garden with the idea of moving them later. Do keep in mind that they have a large taproot so probably need to be transplanted after the first year. 2. An easier approach would be to place the nuts in flower pots to see if they sprout. This makes it easy to transplant afterward. I'd get them into the soil now and by spring/early summer you should know whether any will make it. Keep in mind that if you do plant these nuts, the squirrels will find them if you don't take precautions to protect them. If planted in the ground, you might want to put a screen over them and if in pots, place the pots outside but somewhere the squirrels can't access. If you do plant the hickory nuts, I'd really love to know whether they germinate or not so please let me know. Best of luck to you and let's hope your seeds make it. Thanks for your question.

John Wiessinger ( March 11, 2007)