shagbark hickory

Photo: Famartin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 4 through 8

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Shagbark hickory is widely regarded as one of the two best-tasting hickories, alongside shellbark — the kernel is genuinely sweet and rich, and it's the wild hickory most often gathered and sold, even though thick native shells make cracking work; selected cultivars have been bred for thinner shells. Its shaggy, plate-like exfoliating bark, unique among the hickories, makes it easy to identify even from a distance.

Hardiness

Zone 4–8

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Nut

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

Large tree 20–30 m, with the shaggy peeling bark that names it — not containerable

Light

Full sun — nut masting needs a sunlit crown

Soil pH

6.0–7.5 (near-neutral; lime-tolerant)

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Eastern North America, from southeastern Quebec and southern Ontario south through New England and the Appalachians to Georgia, and west to eastern Texas, Kansas and southeastern Minnesota — found on both dry upland slopes and rich, moist bottomland soils.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

6–10 yrs

Growth speed

Slow-growing, reaching about 30 m tall by 15 m wide at maturity; young sprouts grow vigorously at first but are usually overtopped by faster trees within 10–20 years.

Spacing

1200 cm (472 in) apart — about 144 m² (1550 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Pinnately compound, with usually 5 (rarely 7) obovate-lanceolate leaflets with finely serrate, hair-fringed margins; the terminal three leaflets are noticeably larger than the basal pair.

Root system

A strong, deep taproot forms early, running straight down like a carrot and giving excellent drought resistance and anchorage but making the tree very difficult to transplant once established.

Fruit description

A round to slightly oval nut up to about 4 cm long with a thick, hard shell (thinner in selected cultivars) inside a thick husk that splits fully into four sections; the kernel is sweet and well-flavored, considered genuinely good eating and among the best of the native hickories.

Propagation

Propagated from seed, which needs cold, moist stratification at around 37°F (3°C) for 90–120 days to break dormancy; seed can also be fall-sown directly. As with other hickories, the taproot develops early and is difficult to move, so seedlings are best raised in deep pots or sown in situ and set in a permanent position in their first summer. Named cultivars (e.g., 'Wilcox', 'Weschcke') are grafted, though shagbark hickory is grafted far less commonly, and with more difficulty, than pecan.

Pollination

DICHOGAMOUS — needs Type I + Type II cultivars (pecan); hickories benefit from a 2nd tree

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.