Pecan

Carya illinoinensis

The Pecan is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America. The term "Pecan" is from an Algonquian word, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack.

The pecan is a large deciduous tree that grows 20-40m tall, with a spread of 12-23m. It is a very long-lived tree where individual trees can be expected to live, and bear nuts, for more than 300 years. The flowers are wind-pollinated, and each plant carries male and female flowers on the same tree. Pecans are only partially self-fertile as the pollen is often released prior to the stamens becoming receptive or vice versa. As a result, different varieties are often interplanted in a commercial situation.

Unfortunately, in the home garden we typically don’t have the room for two such enormous trees. So unless a neighbour is growing pecans (preferably upwind as they are wind pollinated) it is unlikely you will get a very large crop. This can be clearly demonstrated in the case of This Sustainable House where our handsome pecan, pictured, produces very little in the way of nuts. However this wasn’t always the case...

Many years ago this self-same tree was considered to be an excellent bearer, and at that stage a neighbour also had a large pecan tree. These pecans obviously cross-pollinated each other, and therefore encouraged the remarkable yields. Unfortunately this tree has since been removed, and as a result the yield of our tree has fallen to few, or no, nuts at all.

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