Sunland Walnut (Juglans regia 'Sunland') is a high-quality English walnut cultivar developed by the University of California, Davis, and released in 1993. It is especially noted for its attractive, smooth, well-sealed shells and light, flavourful kernels. Sunland is an early leafing, vigorous tree, making it ideal for orchard-style planting.
Check out the book Just Nuts for practical, down-to-earth growing advice tailored to Australian conditions. Need help? Visit our walnut growing guide, care & planting instructions for practical advice, and learn more about pollination.
- Uses: Eating fresh, baking, cooking, oil extraction
- Pollination: Partially self-pollinating; better results with pollinators like 'Tulare', 'Cisco' or 'Chandler'
- Harvest: Mid-season (March–early April)
- Chill requirements: Moderate chill; suitable for warm temperate to temperate climates
- Size: About 10–12 m high × 8–10 m wide
- Attributes: Vigorous tree, reliable cropping
- Features: Smooth, well-sealed nuts; excellent kernel quality and flavour; good shell integrity and crackability
- Also known as: English Walnut 'Sunland', Persian Walnut 'Sunland'
Trees are grown on their own roots propagated from seed, not grafted. Walnuts are one of the few fruit and nut trees that can produce worthwhile trees from seed. Unlike apples, pears and many stone fruits, walnut seedlings are often reasonably similar to their parent, although some variation is still to be expected. Seedling trees typically take longer to bear (around 8-12 years) than grafted cultivars (about 3-5 years), but they develop into vigorous, long-lived trees and have produced many of Australia's finest historic walnuts.
References incl:
Ramos, D. E. (Ed.). (1997). Walnut Production Manual. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 3373.
McGranahan, G. H., & Leslie, C. A. (1991). Breeding and genetics of walnuts. Horticultural Reviews, 13, 155–201.
University of California, Walnut Improvement Program. (n.d.). Sunland Variety Profile. Retrieved from https://walnut.ucanr.edu
Images including dried nuts: Copyright Heritage Fruit Trees
