How to Grow Pecans

Time to germination: Better to plant seedlings
Time to harvest: 15 years for seedlings, 3 for grafts
Light requirements: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained

Introduction

Pecans are a nut tree suitable for warmer climates, such as the southern United States as well as Mexico and South America. Hardiness zones 5 to 9 are the best climates for growing pecans.

The trees will be quite large at maturity, easily reaching 100 feet in height and a branch spread of 50 feet or more. It’s not a tree that you can easily grow in a small yard.

Like walnuts, pecans are messy trees. Through the year they will drop male flowers and sap everywhere. So if you don’t mind the mess, the trees will produce a wonderful harvest of buttery tasting nuts with easy-to-crack shells.

Starting Your Tree

Select a sunny location with excellent drainage. Pecans will not thrive if their roots sit in water too often. Don’t plant your trees in any low-lying areas.

Like several other nut trees, pecans produce a chemical called juglone that is toxic to many other plants. You don’t want your pecan trees to be close to any other plants, especially a vegetable garden. When you rake your pecan leaves, don’t add them to your compost pile either.

Pecans have both male and female flowers, but they do not bloom at the same time. This basically means that a single pecan tree cannot pollinate itself, and will not produce nuts. To get around this problem, you have to plant at least 2 trees and they cannot be the same “type”. You have to have one type that has its male flowers first, and one type that has its female flowers first. Your local tree nursery should be able to explain in more detail to make sure you get the right trees. If there are pecan trees already growing in your area, you might be able to get away with just one tree.

Considering their size, you have to allow for 50 feet or more between your trees.

While you can start your own pecan tree from a fresh nut/seed, most people buy seedlings instead. Getting the seeds to sprout is a complicated process of drying, chilling and soaking. Seedlings or grafted saplings are really more suitable for the average home gardener.

The best time to plant a pecan tree is the late fall. Dig a hole large enough to hold the root ball, and water thoroughly once the seedling is planted. For grafted trees, the place where the two pieces of tree have been grafted should be about 2 inches above the level of the soil.

Once you’ve planted your new tree, you should prune some of the branches down to minimize the demands on the newly planted roots. About 1/3 of the branches should be trimmed back. You might want to ask the nursery where you buy the seedling about the correct techniques for this.

Tree Care

One of the biggest threats to your pecan trees will be the pecan weevil. These long-nosed little bugs usually make their appearance in the late summer, laying eggs in your developing pecans. The larvae hatch and eat away the nut, leaving through a hole they chew in the shell. You can take a few steps to protect your trees.

Lay out a sturdy tarp under your tree in late summer and give the branches a shake. Any weevils that fall out should be killed. Ideally, you will reduce the number of adults enough that fewer eggs will be laid in your tree. Various insecticides can also be used to kill of the weevils, but large trees will require a commercial service to adequately treat the entire tree. You can also try sticky traps around the trunk, which can stop the weevils (and anything else) from climbing up into the branches.

Like many other trees, tent caterpillars are another problem that should be able to deal with on your own. They’re also called webworms for the large and rather unsightly tented webs they spin. These caterpillars will eat the leaves of your trees, and can be damaging in large numbers. They live in the tents as they grow. Cut out the branches with tents and dispose of them. Burning will make sure the caterpillars are destroyed. Some people burn them right in the tree, but that’s not recommended unless you have some experience doing it.

Pecan scab is a fungus infection that can ruin your nuts as well. Look for dark green or black spots on the new leaves, and the black fungus can spread to the nuts, making the husks stick to the them. The tree needs to be treated with a fungicide. Many varieties are resistant, but grafted trees are more susceptible to scab.

Through the summer, make sure your tree gets enough water and you can also give it a feeding each spring with a standard fertilizer mix. For the first few years after planting a seedling, you should water your tree almost daily. A good rule of thumb is one gallon of water for each year of tree age. After they reach 5 years old, you can water them deeply once a week if it hasn’t rained.

Harvest and Storage

If you started your pecan trees from seedlings, you can look forward to your first light nut harvests about 15 years later. Grafted trees are usually made with older pecan stock, so you will start to see nut production after just 3 or 4 years. Harvest time for pecans is early autumn. Large trees can provide hundreds of pounds of nuts, but the exact yield will vary greatly from one tree to the next.

The pecan nuts are encased in a husk or “shuck”. When the shuck dries and splits open, that indicates that your pecans are ready to harvest. Many will drop to the ground, but you will most likely have to shake the tree’s branches (not too roughly) to get the nuts to come loose. If you have a grove of trees, there are tools you can use to help with the harvest. A nut-picker on a long pole can be a very helpful tool for the larger trees to get the high up nuts that refuse to fall.

As you start to notice the splitting husks up in the tree, rake as much debris away from the tree and mow the grass to make it easier to find the dropped nuts. Once you pick them, you can break the remaining pieces of the husk away without too much trouble.

Once you’ve picked the nuts out of the shucks, let them dry in a ventilated place for at least 2 weeks. You can test a pecan by shelling one, and its done if the nut meat snaps easily in half. Dried pecans in the shell can be stored in a cool place for several months. Once you shell them, the meats can be refrigerated for 6 months and still stay fresh.

24 Responses to “How to Grow Pecans”

Jeanette Bixby Says:
December 31st, 2011 at 11:52 am
Thanks for the information I have read….I do have dryed nuts fm my tree & also noticed that callipellers has nest built in the trees, I didn’t know if this would be a problem r not. Thanks simpsonville s.c
Maurine Reynolds Says:
February 9th, 2012 at 8:23 am
My pecan tree is about 40 years old, huge, has pecans each year, but never any good ones, the meat is rotten or never developes. What does it need to produce good nuts.
Alice Leggette Says:
August 2nd, 2012 at 10:34 am
i have a 4 ft pecan “bush” that has grown up on its own from nuts dropped from a nearby pecan tree…i would like to make it into a full grown tree…is this feasible and if so, how do i do it?
CHARLES Says:
September 24th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
I HAVE A PECAN TREE THAT IS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD AND IT JUST WILL NOT GROW ANY BIGGER IT IS ABOUT 6 FOOT TALL , AND HAS ABOUT 3 PECAN NUTS A YEAR
WHAT IS WRONG ?
THANK YOU
claudia perez Says:
September 28th, 2012 at 10:29 am
How can i know what kind of pecan tree i have?if it is a male seed first or a female seed first? Thxs.
Henrik Magnusson Says:
February 12th, 2013 at 3:04 am
Thanks for the information. I live in Sweden and would like to try growing pecans. I think the climate where I live i south Sweden is good enough.But where can a buy pecans. I have tried with nuts from the grocery store, but they are dead, probably beacuse of some treatment. Beacuse of my age I would like to buy grafted trees. Somebody please tip me off.
Ed Rozier Says:
March 25th, 2013 at 5:02 pm
I have a number of trees on a SC farm and would like to plant a low-maintenance grass under the trees. Presently, there is an assortment of weeds and fire ant hills scattered throughout the orchard.
My plan is to either burn or apply Round-Up to kill the existing vegetation, and then plant plugs of Zoysia grass. As a kid, we had a patch of Zoysia, so I know it doesn’t grow very high, and it would hopefully crowd out other vegetation.
What do you think?
jolongo Says:
April 14th, 2013 at 8:38 pm
I have a pecan tree that my great grandmother got years and years ago. A few tree guys said it is the largest pecan theyve seen this far north Maryland (close to pa border). I get plenty of flowers. But how close does another pecan tree need to be to get nuts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen nuts on it. I have holly that gets berries and there aren’t any hollys around in any of the neighbors yards….
Nptexas Says:
May 19th, 2013 at 7:24 am
Never use roundup for anything. Dig weeds or turn soil till they die. Roundup kills everything !
Cheryl Says:
June 20th, 2013 at 11:00 am
What does a pecan look like as the nut begins to grow. I do not know what to look for.
Teresa Says:
July 6th, 2013 at 10:44 am
I planted 2 pecan tree seedlings about 15 years ago. They are large beautiful trees now. How do I identify wat type of blossoms they have and if they are both the same type of tree than will I not ever get pecans from them?
William Reyes Says:
July 16th, 2013 at 5:56 pm
Where can I buy seed of male and female?
Selene Aguiar Says:
September 17th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
I have planted a pecan in my garden. It’s been 10 years since then and I haven’t seen any flowers on it yet. I don’t know the type of pecan it is, or if it comes from a seed. I know that I need to have another pecan near for pollinization, but does this affect on flower formation? I live in Uruguay, South America. Some people told me my pecan should be forming nuts by now.
Robert Says:
March 9th, 2014 at 7:13 pm
I have a pecan tree that planted itself 10 years ago. It has beared nuts for the past 3 years but the meats is always dry. What can I do short of cutting it down? Thank you.
jenna billings Says:
July 17th, 2014 at 10:18 am
I have a peacan tree 30 ft high 20 ft still have no nuts have a little on two foot still no nuts
Lisa Says:
January 11th, 2015 at 1:12 am
Hi there

I live in Durban but just have a query about pecan nut trees which I hope you can help me with? There is a nursery in Durban called Dieters and they have grafted pecan nut trees which they say you only need to plant one to get nuts? I am a bit worried because I heard you need two pecan nut trees of two different types before a tree can product pecans? Please can you assist in advising me?
Andy Says:
April 5th, 2015 at 5:26 pm
The Swedish man should know that if his temperatures in southern Sweden are the equivalent of the North American zone 5 or 6 then he’ll be able to grow the pecan trees but is unlikely that the pecan trees will form pecans that have enough time to get ripe. You might be able to find a supplier in southern Europe or Turkey willing to sell you 2. You’ll need a Type 1 & a type 2 or a tree with a type 1 and type 2 branch grafted on the same tree. Try Major and Stuart varieties.

The lady in South Africa I’ve read from a botanist specializing in tree flowing and fruiting that technically pecans have flowers of male and female variety on the same tree and so can self-pollinate. However, like you I’ve read all the literature saying one must have a type 1 and a type 2 in the local area to have pecans bear. It probably just increases yield.

It is possible to graft, e.g. a type 1 or vice versa to a root stock and then graft the two of three branches of the other type higher up as the tree gets older but due to the size of pecans that probably wouldn’t be a structurally sound tree.

For those not having pecan trees bear try adding another variety in the vicinity if your yard has the room. Or the problem could be a fungus imported with the tree when it was sold to you. It’s probably better it you are ordering trees for humid areas to order from a place that grows the trees in humid areas and that have grown trees resistance to fungus. Ordering a tree from a Texas nursery isn’t a good ideal if you live in coastal Caroline for example. Texas is much more arid and so trees don’t have to fight the funguses like they do in Georgia.
Andy Says:
April 5th, 2015 at 5:28 pm
P.S. The Swedish man would need 180 growing days from what I’ve learned. That’s why I though a Major or other smaller pecan nut size might have a small chance in some years. You are probably going to have more success with hazelnuts.
Mary Armstrong Says:
November 6th, 2015 at 6:18 am
I have a pecan tree that always has nuts but they are bitter? Is there anything I can do for it? My pecans also has a brown coating on some of them.
Charles Powell Says:
November 24th, 2015 at 6:43 pm
I have a 5 or 6 year old pecan tree that is in well drained soil watered by irrigation water every 10 to 14 days. Last year was the first year that it produces very many pecans, most did not have good meat and many of the pecan skins did not open and it appears that the same thing is happening this year. We live in a rural area in east Phoenix, AZ and the closest tree pecan is 110 yards away and there are not many bees in our area. I have been fertilizing it with horse manure. I was told the problem may be a lack of zinc so last year I used a fertilizer that contained zinc.What is your recommendation? 480-668-5021
David K. Campbell Sr. Says:
May 12th, 2016 at 5:28 pm
I live in West Virginia. I picked up 20 some nuts from a native pecan tree that had been frozen for some quit time this past winter. saw on utube a way to possibly sprout them by placing in a baggy wrapped in a wet paper towel. After several months i started unwrapping to find that one had a little green sprout out the end of the shell. Quit excited, I planted quit delicately into a pot with potting soil and slightly watered. Amazing. it has broken ground. Its in the house with sunlight from front window. I know have it under a grow light and in three days the little single stem has split at top. I’m hoping that means it is growing and healthy. If anyone can help me please what do I do next? Is a green house to hot and humid for the young tree? I’m so excited. My friend in Philippi WV said that his tree might be one of the oldest native pecan trees in WV. Thankyou, David K. Campbell Sr. Morgantown WV.
Randall Burkhalter Says:
July 14th, 2016 at 12:00 pm
I recently purchased two pecan trees (containers) (4-5 ft),while driving through Texas. I live in northern middle Tennessee. Should I go ahead and plant them, or should I wait until fall. If waiting to fall is better. How should I take care of them until planting them.
Thanks,
Administrator Says:
September 22nd, 2016 at 3:16 pm
you could plant them now so long as you’re able to water daily.
Terry Edwards Says:
August 2nd, 2017 at 6:19 pm
Can you send a pic of a male and a female flower, please?
I have a tree that has bloomed for several years but the blooms are not fuzzy. They are long, thin, and slick (sort of like a redbud bloom).
Thank you!