Q: I have read that black walnut trees are valuable. I have two trees on my lot that are at least sixty years old. Whom should I contact about selling them?

A: Although walnut lumber is quite expensive to purchase, it is not usually harvested from backyard trees. Your sixty-year old trees probably have several branches within ten feet of the ground. This make the lumber from the tree undesirable due to the limb defects.

In addition, urban walnut trees might have nails, wire or even bullets embedded in the trunk. Sawmill owners do not want to risk their thousand-dollar blades on trees that aren’t clear of metal.

However, if the tree trunk is more than eighteen inches in diameter (measured four feet from the ground) and if it has no limbs lower than six feet from the ground, an amateur woodworker might be interested in it. They probably won’t pay you for it but might take it down if you don’t want it.

Highland Hardware (404-872-4466) allows persons who think they have a valuable tree to advertise it on their bulletin board for woodworkers.

See also:

Urban Walnut Trees

Value of Walnut Timber