About
Carya aquatica is a deciduous tree that grows at a gradual pace, featuring pinnate leaves with multiple leaflets arranged along a single stalk. This species thrives in wet or boggy soils. Mature specimens display grey-brown bark that peels off in strips and develop a broad, well-branched canopy that provides dense shade. It typically takes about 20 years for these trees to bear fruit, producing clusters of yellow-green, ribbed, oval nuts with hard seeds. Optimal fruiting is observed during hot summer months.
About the genus
Carya comprises robust deciduous trees known for their appealing form. The large, compound leaves display vivid autumn hues. Male flowers appear as catkins, while the female flowers are less noticeable, developing into nuts. Some of these nuts contain edible kernels.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Poorly-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed, Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Trees
- Habit
- Spreading branched
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- Higher than 12 metres
- Spread
- 4-8 metres
- Time to full height
- 20-50 years
- Suggested uses
- Architectural, Coastal
- Native to
- SE US
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in full sun on any moisture retentive, or wet soil that does not dry out in summer.
- Pruning
- Pruning group 1
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed (tree/shrub); which requires a period of cold stratification. After germination, seedlings rapidly develop a deep tap root and resent disturbance so plant out in permanent position in the first year.
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to crown gall, Powdery mildews and leaf spot- see leaf damage on woody plants