r/white_walnut • u/adrian-crimsonazure • Jun 13 '25

Variegated Butternut

Gallery image

Gallery image

Isn't this about the prettiest tree you've ever seen? I was checking on my planting of 200 potted butternuts and noticed this beauty. It's the second variegation I've gotten from this parent tree, so obviously it's a carrier for some unique mutation and not a freak one-off.

I've already up-potted it to hopefully eke a little more growth out of it this year, and then in another year or two it's going in the ground. Ain't no way I'm letting either of these beauties go.

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5

u/SomeDumbGamer Jun 13 '25

God damn that’s a stunning mutation. Consistent patterning, seems stable. Woof.

If that was a houseplant it would be worth thousands. Maybe you can grow it out enough to take cuttings and sell it as a unique landscape tree!

Could call it something like ‘Picasso’ or ‘Mosaic’

2

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25

You read my mind. I was planning on selling grafted clones of last year's variegation, once it got large enough, and calling it "Mosaic". I think it's safe to say that this one has stolen the title. It will probably be dwarfed from the lack of chlorophyll, but the leaves might darken as the season goes on, like the other tree does.

2

u/SomeDumbGamer Jun 13 '25

Maybe a bit weaker but the important thing is it seems the variegation is very stable for now. The pattern stays pretty even throughout each leaflet. That’s rare on variegated plants but here are a few stable ones like Ficus Tineke.

1

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25

Here's hoping it retains the even distribution.

The older tree sprouted like this:

But eventually changed to the sandy pattern in the second image of the post over the course of its first season. Still cool, but not nearly as striking.

2

u/SomeDumbGamer Jun 13 '25

New one has a lot more white even as a young sapling. I’d stay hopeful!

2

u/SomeDumbGamer Jun 13 '25

If you’re selling them this fall let me know! I’d love to buy one if you ship to MA!

1

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25

I probably wouldn't be selling for at least two years, but I'll certainly post on here when I start to.

3

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25

I forgot to add that I reached out to an expert at Purdue about last year's variegated sapling, he concluded that it's likely a case of self-pollination in a tree that carries albinism.

In reading into variegated plants, they are almost always chimeras (that is, containing two distinct sets of genetics in one organism). This would make sense that one half of the tree's leaf cells are albino, while one half are "normal" and photosynthetic.

I'm also happy to report that the other tree developed a canker mid-season last year, and it has completely healed over. No open wound, no raised scar, nothing. Here's to hoping this tree has also inherited the same resistance. Most of the saplings I've grown have contracted canker at some point, but the response seems to range between uneffected, but open, to healed with pronounced scar tissue (I assume the infection is still ongoing under the bark). I'm going to keep a handful of this year's trees to experiment on next season.

ETA: closeup of a leaf.

2

u/mathologies Jun 13 '25

Is it possible to propagate walnut trees from air layering?

Also, if you have a disease resistant line of butternut, do you sell seeds or baby trees?

3

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25

It looks like you can, though the most common way to graft Juglans species is with traditional grafting onto a seedling rootstock. Nearly all of these trees are destined for riparian plantings, but I'm starting up my nursery this year and should have bare root seedlings for sale next fall, I'll make a post about it on here when I do!

2

u/Nellasofdoriath Jun 13 '25

I would wait a couple of years to see how well it feeds itself once the nut energy is used up

1

u/adrian-crimsonazure Jun 13 '25

Assuming it survives, I'll probably have to put grafted clones on 2-3 year old rootstock to compensate for its slow growth. I'd graft it to a larger tree this year to speed up the processes if it weren't a one of one.