By Dan Rahn
University of Georgia
Before you even plant a new pecan tree, you may have already
decided its success, says a University of Georgia scientist.
The variety you choose and where you plant it are the most
critical choices you can make when planting home pecan trees,
said Lenny Wells, a Cooperative Extension horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.
“Homeowners can’t spray their trees the way commercial growers
do,” Wells said. “They need to consider disease resistance as
their No. 1 choice when they select a variety.”
Six to pick
Backyard trees mainly need a built-in resistance to scab, a major
disease of pecan trees, he said. That essentially cuts the
choices to six varieties.
Elliott is an especially hardy
tree with small, round nuts, golden halves and excellent flavor,
Wells said. It’s very resistant to scab.
Kanza has very good scab
resistance. It’s similar to Elliot is much more cold-tolerant. It
would be a better choice for areas north of Macon.
Curtis, another very productive
tree, yields smaller nuts with excellent kernels. It’s very
resistant to scab.
Gloria Grande, a good producer,
yields large nuts with excellent kernels.
Sumner is a good producer with
excellent kernel quality. It’s late-maturing but very tolerant to
scab.
Stuart, a popular variety, has
large, thin-shell nuts with excellent kernels. It’s very
productive but has started to scab a little more in recent years.
But it’s still a pretty good variety for homeowners.
“Those are the best choices of disease-resistant varieties,”
Wells said.
What, when, where
“The best size is normally a 5- to 6-foot tree,” he said. “This
is large enough to have reserves to carry it through some tough
times.”
February and early March, he said, are the best times to plant.
But once you’ve got the tree, you still have a critical choice to
make. Where will you plant it?
“Make sure they have enough room to grow,” Wells said. “It’s
little now, but it’s going to be a big tree. Don’t plant pecan
trees too close to buildings or power lines. It’s best to give
them 40 to 60 feet on all sides.”
A pecan tree, he said, produces nuts on the ends of the limbs.
“If it doesn’t have room,” he said, “it will stop fruiting and
grow straight up like a pine tree.”
How
After you’ve bought a disease-resistant variety and picked a
roomy place to plant it, dig a hole big enough — about 2 feet
across and 3 feet deep — to get the roots off to a good start.
Be careful to plant the tree at the right depth.
“Most people tend to plant too deep or too shallow,” Wells said.
“Take note of the dark area that indicates how deep it was
planted at the nursery. Then plant it at that depth.”
To avoid burning the roots of newly planted trees, don’t put any
fertilizer in the planting hole or apply any on the surface
before June. Don’t fertilize at all in the first year unless the
tree grows by 2 to 4 feet by June. If it does, apply 1 pound of
5-10-15 in a 25-square-foot circle (5- to 6-foot diameter) around
the tree.
Getting a good pecan tree started requires one more critical
thing: water. “During the first two years,” Wells said, “water
pecan trees whenever they don’t get adequate rainfall.”
Anything that will help conserve moisture and lessen big
fluctuations in soil moisture will help, he said. Good weed
control around the base of the tree is important.
“Mulching is the big thing,” he said. “That will pay off more
than anything else. It controls weeds and conserves moisture.”
(Dan Rahn is a news editor with the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
