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Tree growing guide
Pecan grows readily from soaked, cold-stratified nuts, but it makes a deep taproot and its seedlings do not reproduce the parent's nuts. This guide covers stratification, deep pots, planting out and the winter chill a pecan needs to crop.
Use well-filled, insect-free nuts from the current season. Pecan seed tolerates drying but is oily: in USDA tests, nuts dried below 10% moisture and sealed at 3 °C (37 °F) kept well for 2 years and lost half to two-thirds of their viability by 4 years. Store unsown nuts dry, sealed and refrigerated.
Not needed. Soaking and moist cold are enough to start the nut.
Recommended. Sources give 30-90 days at 1-4 °C (USDA manual), 6-8 weeks at about 2 °C / 35 °F (University of Georgia) and at least 2 months at 2-4 °C / 36-40 °F in damp vermiculite (Oklahoma State). Nuts from southern, warm-climate trees are often almost non-dormant, while northern seed needs the full treatment.
Yes, before stratifying: 24 hours (Oklahoma State) to 2-4 days (USDA, University of Georgia), changing the water daily. Discard nuts that crack, open, turn mouldy or feel slick.
Warm soil, around 30 °C (86 °F) by day and 20 °C (68 °F) at night. Oklahoma State speeds sprouting by holding stratified nuts in aerated water at 32 °C (90 °F) until the root tip shows.
Lay nuts on their side. Oklahoma State sows 2.5-4 cm (1-1.5 in) deep in pots; the USDA manual gives 2-4 cm for hickory nursery beds; University of Georgia sows rootstock seed 7.5-10 cm (3-4 in) deep in seedbeds, shallower in clay.
A free-draining soilless mix in deep pots, such as 10 x 10 x 25-35 cm (4 x 4 x 10-14 in). In the ground pecans want deep, fertile, well-drained loam of pH 5.5-7.5; waterlogging and heavy clay invite root disease.
Moist but not wet. Keep fall-sown beds mulched until germination is complete.
None needed under the soil. Seedlings grow best in full sun; nursery shading is generally unnecessary.
Expect weeks rather than days: USDA germination tests on pecan ran 35-97 days, with average germination of 50-91% depending on the method. Sow about 20% extra nuts to allow for losses.
Pecan has a deep taproot. Grow it in deep pots with an open or mesh bottom so the root is air-pruned instead of circling. Before planting out, trim the taproot tip and cut above any curl; bare-root trees are cut back to about 45 cm (18 in). In Himachal Pradesh nursery saplings are transplanted in December-January while dormant.
Feed lightly once seedlings have two true leaves and keep them weeded and watered. Oklahoma State also gives container seedlings zinc sulfate every 2 weeks until growth stops in the first season. Seedlings are usually grafted or budded with a named variety after 1-2 years.
Each seedling is genetically unique and nut quality varies widely. In Jammu and Kashmir most orchards are scattered seedling trees with variable nuts, which is why named varieties are patch-budded or grafted onto seedling rootstocks.
ICAR's Indian Farming puts the need at about 400 chilling hours, with winter temperatures between 10 °C and -1 °C (50-30 °F). The hot Indian plains do not provide this; pecan is grown mainly in the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh (Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Solan) and Jammu's intermediate zone.
Pecan is wind-pollinated and dichogamous. Pair an early-pollen variety such as Western or Wichita with a late-pollen one such as Pawnee or Caddo, and space trees 8-10 m (26-33 ft) apart.
Trees generally start bearing after 5-10 years, depending on variety and care; seedlings have a long juvenile period.
Stratify pecan nuts over winter and raise vigorous seedlings for rootstock or a long-lived shade and nut tree.
No. Pecans are not true to type from seed, so each seedling's nuts differ from the parent. For a known variety, graft or bud a named cultivar onto the seedling after 1-2 years.
The tree may grow, but it needs about 400 hours of winter chill to crop well, which the hot plains do not supply. Mid-hill areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu are where pecan is grown in India.
Soak for 1-4 days, then keep them moist at 1-4 °C (34-40 °F) for about 1-3 months. Warm-climate seed often needs less.
The seedling sends down a long taproot first. Deep, open-bottomed pots stop it from circling and encourage a branched root system that transplants well.
