Szego

‘Szego’ ([C. crenata × C. pumila] × C. mollissima hybrid) is an OP seedling of the California hybrid ‘Linden’ (C. crenata × C. pumila), and the Dunstan hybrid ‘Revival’ is speculated to be the pollen parent. The cultivar, named after New York Northern Nut Growers Association member Al Szego, is very vigorous and upright. It has a “loose” crown architecture that allows for preferred light penetration into the canopy. This architecture contributes to the cultivar’s good productivity, despite producing ample male flowers. Nuts from ‘Szego’ are uniformly large (>20 g), easy to peel, and slightly less dense than typical C. mollissima nuts. They are also some of the best cultivars for eating, with a sweet and very flavorful taste. The nuts drop during the late season and store very well. In northern environments (like Iowa), the nuts do not drop from the burs. The tree is resistant to phytophthora root rot. However, ramets undergoing long- term evaluation at UMCA recently developed severe blight cankers; this cultivar is susceptible to blight. ‘Szego’ is very cold hardy, more so than many C. mollissima. Growers in Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio note that ‘Szego’ has survived winter conditions that have killed many other C. mollissima cultivars (Miller, 2017).