One of the problems that I have observed with our website here is limited space for sale items - I cannot have too many items in the webstore sitting around at 0 inventory, even though we HAVE these items - they are just not for sale at this time. In order to make sure that we are not forgotten, when our customers are planning their next garden expansion, I have decided to begin listing every tree, shrub, vine, herbaceous perennial, and annual seed that we sell, each with its own full description including instructions for care, and the expected time that they will be available to order. This is actually a fairly large list, and as each entry will require time and attention, I will not be building that entire page all at once. The plant profiles will appear here, in the blog section, until I have enough written up to transfer all of them to the new section in 'resources'. Entries will not appear in any particular order, although I will attempt to organize them in some fashion, at a later date.
Cheers,
Jason (Chief Gnome)
Pecan (Carya Illinoinensis)
Zones 5-9
Available for purchase Beginning November 2024
The pecan is a deciduous canopy tree, growing to between 90-120 feet in height, spreading to 60 feet at a slow rate. Pecan trees are monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers appear on the same tree, making them at least partially self fertile – although it is best to have two or more trees for pollination, as the female flowers on a tree are not as likely to be receptive when the male flowers - called catkins - are releasing their pollen. Although many trees begin producing nuts within the first few years, orchard growers expect reliable harvests of fifty pounds or more to begin by the fifteenth year, and yield averages increasing by three pounds per year for the life of the tree: generally at least ninety years, and much, much longer in suitable areas. Look for ripe pecan nuts to begin separating from their husks and falling from your trees between October and December, just as the leaves begin to fall: When the nuts are ripe, the husks will come away easily.
My experience – and infatuation – with pecan trees began when I was only seven years old, and had the opportunity to gather nuts in my grandfather's orchard for the first time; These trees had been planted before my mother had even been born, and were about forty years old. I was amazed at the tree's ability to produce so much delicious and nutritious food – food that came naturally preserved, straight from the tree, with no need for canning, refrigerating, or dehydrating – in 10,000 square feet there were enough calories to feed a human being, every day of their lives, for a lifetime.
The distribution of Pecans is yet another point of interest: Pecans managed to cross the Ozark Mountains, and follow the paths of the Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, even traveling upstream along many tributaries, counter to what we might expect to see from a plant that was being propagated by rodents and floods: A very special animal was responsible for this: Man. The distribution of Carya Illinoinensis and the appearance of mound structures West of the Mississippi river overlap each other to such an extent that I have little doubt that the culture that built those mounds was also heavily involved in the spread of the Pecan: One of our favorite trees.