Germination temperature
Warm: standard tests alternate 30 °C (86 °F) by day and 20 °C (68 °F) at night.
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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.
Warm: standard tests alternate 30 °C (86 °F) by day and 20 °C (68 °F) at night.
2.5-4 cm (1-1.5 in) in pots; up to 7.5-10 cm (3-4 in) in sandy nursery seedbeds.
Slow and uneven: tests run 35-97 days.
Not needed for germination; seedlings need full sun and generally no shade.
Soak 1-4 days, then moist cold at 1-4 °C (34-40 °F) for about 1-3 months.
Sow in place or in deep, open-bottomed pots that stop the taproot from circling.
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.
Cause: cracked, empty or damaged nuts, or a soggy medium. Fix: soak and sort first, use damp (drained) vermiculite and remove any moulded nut.
Cause: old seed or no cold treatment for northern seed. Fix: use fresh nuts and stratify for 1-3 months.
Cause: radicles left to grow long become fragile. Fix: plant as soon as the root tip begins to show.
Cause: squirrels and rats find autumn-sown nuts. Fix: cover beds with mesh or sow stratified nuts in spring.
Cause: too little winter chill, a lone tree whose male and female flowers open at different times, or a poor seedling. Fix: grow in a cold-winter area, plant two complementary varieties and graft a named cultivar.
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.