It Takes Time

• Landowners planting shellbark hickory need to have a little patience. Expect to wait about 40 years to see the first nuts from a newly planted tree. Peak nut production occurs after the tree reaches the ripe old age of 75 years, but before its 200th birthday.
  
  

Blooming

• The shellbark hickory blooms in the spring. Depending on weather conditions, this likely occurs between April and June each year. The tree includes both male and female flowers with pollination occurring from wind action rather than insects.
  
  

Nuts

• The nuts form on the female flowers after pollination. Shellbark hickory nuts mature in the fall of the year, with the nut harvest commonly complete by November. Prime trees produce as much as three bushels of nuts each year. The trees commonly produce well every other year and recover during the off years.
  
  

Tree Growth

• Along with being slow to produce nuts, the shellbark hickory takes its time growing. A seedling may only stand about 4 inches tall after the first year of growth and 22 inches tall after five years. Average growth is less than a quarter-inch per year. The tree may reach a height of 40 feet, but expect it to take more than a century to reach those types of altitudes.