Growing a pecan tree

[i_am2bz]

I love pecans & would like to have my own tree (I'm in zone 7b, I know they grow here)...I know two people in other towns who have huge pecan trees & will gladly give away nuts because they have so many.

So...my question is, do I really have to go to a nursery & buy a sapling, or can I just plant a nut? I mean, that's how most of these trees got there to begin with, right? Or am I being too simple-minded?

I ask this because my gardening book pretty much discourages people from growing pecan trees (they get too big, there's no guarantee they will ever "fruit", etc. etc.) But if I get a pecan from a tree that I know has lots of nuts on it already, wouldn't I be sure of getting something genetically prone to be...prolific?

 

[Wifezilla]

A sapling can save you several YEARS time. If you aren't planning on moving in the next 10 years or so, go ahead and plant the nut

 

[i_am2bz]

Aside from being to poor to be able to move anywhere else... I imagine I'll still be here in 10 years...was my source correct in saying that buying a sapling from a nursery doesn't guarantee a tree that will fruit? I mean, if I spend $40 at a nursery, only to find several years from now that all I got was a big ol' shade tree, I may as well save myself some money & plant a nut, right...? :/

 

[mandieg4]

I'm not sure what it takes to grow a pecan tree from a nut. We have about a dozen pecan trees on our property and I have never seen a volunteer come up around the trees like I do the oak trees. I'd think you would be better off to go to a nursery and buy one. Surely if you get on from a reputable nursery you would be guaranteed to get a producing tree. Maybe if you got one from a discount store or big box hardware store you might not. I wonder were all the pecan orchards around me get their baby trees? Surely they wouldn't plant one with a chance of not getting nuts.

 

[hoosier]

I don't know what your state offers, but Indiana has a tree nursery where you can buy small, 1-2 yr old trees. You have to buy a minimum of 50 trees, so you might need to get a group together. It has been a long time since I purchased their wildlife packet (25 asst trees), but it seems like they cost about $1 a tree. I think they are to be used for wildlife food and habitat, so may not be as large a nut as some of the trees you could purchase. Also, you might consider mail order bare root stock.

 

[~gd]

Y'all think sex is complicated? Well reproduction of of pecans make sex look simple. It seems there are two type of pecan trees. One type will only release its pollen AFTER it has been showered with pollen from another tree while the second type only produces pollen UNTIL it has been showered with other tree's pollen So you need two to get nuts. To make things more fun the trees have a tendency to only produce every other year so if you have a this year producer paired with a next year producer you still get no nuts.
By now I am sure there are people reading this thinking I must be pulling your leg, you could look it up! Actually some pears have a tendency to only produce every other year. Even some of the old apples will follow the light -heavy-light- heavy cycle.
So if you really want pecan nuts every year (or at all) you had better contact a tree nursley. Or you could plant several hundred nuts and hope for the right combo because quess what/ most nuts are sterile and will not reproduce!

 

[~gd]

I'm not sure what it takes to grow a pecan tree from a nut. We have about a dozen pecan trees on our property and I have never seen a volunteer come up around the trees like I do the oak trees. I'd think you would be better off to go to a nursery and buy one. Surely if you get on from a reputable nursery you would be guaranteed to get a producing tree. Maybe if you got one from a discount store or big box hardware store you might not. I wonder were all the pecan orchards around me get their baby trees? Surely they wouldn't plant one with a chance of not getting nuts.

Reproduced by grafting.

 

[big brown horse]

Y'all think sex is complicated? Well reproduction of of pecans make sex look simple. It seems there are two type of pecan trees. One type will only release its pollen AFTER it has been showered with pollen from another tree while the second type only produces pollen UNTIL it has been showered with other tree's pollen So you need two to get nuts. To make things more fun the trees have a tendency to only produce every other year so if you have a this year producer paired with a next year producer you still get no nuts.
By now I am sure there are people reading this thinking I must be pulling your leg, you could look it up! Actually some pears have a tendency to only produce every other year. Even some of the old apples will follow the light -heavy-light- heavy cycle.
So if you really want pecan nuts every year (or at all) you had better contact a tree nursley. Or you could plant several hundred nuts and hope for the right combo because quess what/ most nuts are sterile and will not reproduce!

Interesting ~gd.

My parents must of had just the right trees b/c they exploded with nuts every fall. They sent boxes to all of our northern relatives for Christmas gifts and sold the rest to Blue Bell Ice Cream. (I am not sure if Blue Bell still buys from local growers anymore though.)

 

[i_am2bz]

So you need two to get nuts. To make things more fun the trees have a tendency to only produce every other year so if you have a this year producer paired with a next year producer you still get no nuts.

Or you could plant several hundred nuts and hope for the right combo because quess what/ most nuts are sterile and will not reproduce!

That's what I was afraid of. I guess that's why my gardening book was basically saying "forget it". You just have to be lucky enough to live somewhere where a pecan tree already happens to be growing. :/

Umm...anyone here ever grow peanuts...??

 

[dipence71]

So you need two to get nuts. To make things more fun the trees have a tendency to only produce every other year so if you have a this year producer paired with a next year producer you still get no nuts.

Or you could plant several hundred nuts and hope for the right combo because quess what/ most nuts are sterile and will not reproduce!

That's what I was afraid of. I guess that's why my gardening book was basically saying "forget it". You just have to be lucky enough to live somewhere where a pecan tree already happens to be growing. :/

Umm...anyone here ever grow peanuts...??

I only have one pecan tree in my front yard and know of none others anywhere close and I get pecans, I am not sure if it is the every other yr or not I just started paying attention to it LOL