Every tree tells a story. Some people can hear it.

Planting "Carpathian" Walnuts (i.e. hardy strains of Persian aka "California" Walnuts) was fashionable about fifty years ago.

Consequently, fifty-to-thirty year-old walnut trees of this species are not rare. I probably pass one-hundred of them on the 35 mile drive out to the property.

There is one tree that was notable last year due to its heavy production*. Unfortunately, it is a cluster of three trees sitting in the yard in front of a farm house. I thought I had which of the three trees it was marked in my memory but I want to be sure because it is sad when you get scion from the wrong tree and nurse it along for five years only to find out that it is a dud.

Yesterday, as I was driving by, I realized that the tree I suspected of being the over-achiever had a different form or structure than the other two trees. I held that thought in my mind as I drove the rest of the way to my day's work and as I drove I looked at the other trees (when traffic permitted, of course) to see if any others shared that structure. They didn't.

The over-achiever had side branches that subtly arched downward.

I know from pruning apple trees that wood is "plastic" and it deforms under loads. Over time, the weight of the fruit causes branches that once angled upward at 45 degrees to bend horizontal and then, if not pruned, downward toward the tips.

Let me repeat for emphasis "...the weight of the fruit..."

Let me emphasize that I am not claiming that this form causes higher production. I am claiming that this form is evidence of a prior history of high production.

How that observation might be useful

If a fellow were to be surveying a very large number of seedling walnut trees he could either rely on the fallible memory of the owner regarding productivity or he could let the tree's form tell him its history.

Owners might be able to tell you which tree is the best of his collection but that is not a good basis on an absolute sense. There is also the problem that the owner might not admit that he never really paid attention, or more likely, that his wife could tell you but he cannot. Finally, sometime folks don't want to share that kind of information with nosy people who could be working for the tax collectors.

The only caveat that I want to share is that this feature is age dependent. Older trees will develop some arching to their oldest, horizontal limbs because of gravity and the weight of the wood. You really have something, though, if you see a 15' to 20' tall "Carpathian" Walnut with any kind of bowing to their non-vertical limbs.

*No photos available. It is almost impossible to take a picture of the trees without including the farm-house. I am not going to intrude on the owner's privacy. I COULD ask, but it is planting season and it is a working farm.