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Caria pecan. How to grow a pecan nut from a nut. Cultivation and reproduction

Pecan has vanilla flavor and chocolate aroma. Its merits were first appreciated by the Indian tribes of the American prairies. About 200 years ago, the plant came to Europe, and now it is grown in Russia.

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Botanical description

The biological name of the plant is Caria Illinois. A more familiar name is common pecan. Belongs to the Hickory family, the Hickory genus. These deciduous trees in their homeland can grow as tall as a twelve-story house. Old age carias reach 2 meters in girth.

From one mature pecan tree, you can harvest up to 15 kg of nuts, and from an old one - 200.

Appearance description:

• thick trunk with brown wrinkled bark;
• lush spreading crown;
• large, smooth, narrow leaves;
• long, fluffy earrings at the ends of young shoots during flowering.

Photo of pecan

Blooms in May - June. In our conditions, this protects the peduncles from spring frosts. The trees are pollinated by the wind.

How does a pecan grow?

For the first 4-5 years, the seedling grows extremely slowly, adding no more than 30 cm in height. It is believed that at this time the root system of the future tree is being formed.

Where does it grow?

The nut grows on fertile, as well as loose and well-moisturized soils. It is found in the United States (here walnut farming is practiced for commercial purposes) in the states of Iowa and Indiana, in the Mississippi valleys and the prairies of Texas.

European subspecies are common:

• in Crimea;
• in the Caucasus;
• in Central Asia.

Some varieties of Caria Illinois are resistant to frost. Young trees are able to withstand -30. Therefore, the variety will probably spread to the northern regions.

Varieties and varieties

To date, there are about 150 known varieties of pecans.

The following varieties are most popular in Europe:

• Success;
• Textan;
• Indiana;
• Major;
• Stewart;
• Greenriver.

All these species are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to the composition of the soil, drought resistance and stable fruiting. They grow poorly only on marshy and acidic soils. The Major variety is considered one of the most cold-resistant. But for growing nuts in our climate, the endurance of the shoots is not enough. Since the fruits appear relatively late - at the end of October, most of them simply do not have time to ripen.

In addition, the following super-northern varieties are now popular:

• Snaps;
• Dearstand;
• Carlson-3;
• Campbell NS-4;
• Lucas.

The super-northerly pecans are not suitable for commercial cultivation, as their fruits are the smallest of all - no more than 2.5 cm.

Description and properties of fruits

Fruits in the scientific world are called drupes. They are collected on a tree in bunches (5-10 pieces), the length of each nut is about 4 cm. The shell is smooth and dense. When ripe, it turns brown, dries and cracks, exposing a kernel similar to a walnut. But pecans are sweeter and do not contain any partitions inside.

You can learn about the beneficial properties of pecans in the video from the JitZdorovo channel.

Nutritional value

Most of these oils are composed of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. A tenth of a kilogram of this product contains 9 g of protein, 14 g of carbohydrates, including dietary fiber.

In a large chicken egg, considered a source of protein, the latter is even less than 100 g of pecans.

Comparative table of the mineral and vitamin composition of nuts (per 100g of product):

Exotic Pecan - Contains a high amount of the most valuable fat-soluble vitamins A and E.

Benefit

Caria Illinois nuts are widely used in cooking. Pecan nuts have been used as food by Indian tribes for a long time. The fruits were harvested for future use, they were eaten in case of an unsuccessful hunt. Priests and healers, rubbing nuts, received "milk", which they watered wounded soldiers, healed the weakened and strengthened the health of children.

But the main thing in pecans is a beneficial effect on the body, which is why they are recommended to be added to food for patients with diseases of the heart, eyes and all elderly people.

Vitamin A (retinol) - ensures the functioning of the retina, maintains visual acuity and the health of our eyes. In addition, retinol is involved in the development of all systems of the child's body.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a natural antioxidant:

• stabilizes membranes, protects them from oxidation;
• maintains health at the cellular level.

Deficiency of this vitamin causes aging and deterioration of the body. Tocopherol, together with unsaturated fatty acids, protects the walls of the arteries from damage and inflammation, slows down the growth of cholesterol plaques, saving from heart attacks and strokes. Moreover, vegetable pecan oils literally remove "bad" high-density cholesterol from the bloodstream, while the content of "good" is increased.

These same substances, balanced with a complex of other vitamins and minerals, regulate the functions of human immunity. Reducing the force of radical reactions that damage membranes and DNA. Tocopherol and fatty acids are involved in anti-tumor defense.

The benefits of pecan are highlighted in a video published by the Culture of Prosperity channel.

You can also get from pecan:

1. Pecan oil. Used internally for colds, heart disease. Outwardly - for skin diseases, as well as during massage procedures.
2. Trunk wood. Prized by furniture manufacturers. It is believed to be harder than oak.

Harm

Even these healthy nuts can be harmful:

1. Figure and body weight. People who watch their weight need to remember that the fruits of Caria are very high in calories.
2. Allergies. Do not eat this product if you cannot tolerate peanuts, hazelnuts or walnuts. Also described are cases of allergic reactions in children suffering from diathesis.
3. Digestive disorders. Occur with uncontrolled consumption of nuts.

Planting and growing

Caria reproduces in the following ways:

• seeds;
• cuttings;
• budding;
• vaccination.

Growing pecans from seeds is easier than growing from seedlings. The latter often die during transplantation, since the root system of a young plant is vulnerable.

Preparation and selection of a landing site

It is important that in the place of planting both seeds and subsequently seedlings there is a deep fertile soil layer. Water in the beds should not stagnate. Choose an area that is lighted so that trees do not grow in the shade of a house or other structures.

How and when to plant?

Mature seeds are sown in the ground in autumn or spring. If the spring option is chosen, seed stratification must be carried out. To do this, they are kept in a humid environment at a temperature of 2-4 degrees for 2 months. Sowing is best in April.

Beds and furrows are formed before planting. It is better to leave the distance between the rows at least 1 m. The depth of planting seeds in loose soil is 7-8 mm. After planting, the garden bed is watered and covered, sprinkled with sawdust, chips or cut grass. This will protect the seeds from the scorching sun, showers and create comfortable conditions for germination.

Nut germination is better when planting in spring. The first shoots appear in a month. Strong and vigorous seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place at the age of one year. Others - after 2-3 years, when they reach a height of at least 50 cm.

In the place where the walnut tree will grow, dig a planting hole at least 60 cm deep and wide. When transplanting, they try not to damage the root system of a young pecan. Gently spreading the roots of the plant in the hole, sprinkle them with loose soil on top. After that, watering thoroughly, you should sprinkle the ground with peat or sawdust.

Pecan care, fertilization and feeding

The basis of plant care is regular watering and feeding. In summer, make sure that the soil does not dry out. The roots of the tree must be constantly moistened, therefore, during dry periods, watering is required more often and more abundantly. Some gardeners recommend periodically moisturizing the leaves using a shower watering method.

Relatives from Georgia brought a friend unusual nuts as a gift. I accidentally saw them in his car and asked him to give me some for breeding. Since we live in the south, in the Krasnodar Territory, I thought that perhaps our climate would also be suitable for growing this interesting crop.

Pecan or mysterious culture

For a long time I could not even find out the name of the plant, the nuts of which I got. Outwardly, they are similar to walnuts, but more oblong and slightly pointed at the ends. The shell is smooth, thin, there are no partitions inside. The kernels look like walnuts, but the folds on them are not as sinuous.

The taste is softer and sweeter. After reviewing more than one directory and identifier, I realized that this is an ordinary pecan (or Caria Illinois). The culture is capable of bearing fruit for 300-400 years! It belongs to the genus hickory of the walnut family. It is a spreading deciduous tree up to 60 m in height. Their leaves are like those of mountain ash, but larger - up to 50 cm in length and without notches at the edges.

Pecans are grown commercially in Central Asia and the southeastern United States. In our country, there are small plantings of it in the Caucasus and Crimea.

Pecan nut - 200 kg per tree!

The culture blooms in May-June. Pollinated by the wind. Male walnut flowers are earrings. Women are collected in inflorescences-spikelets - up to 11 pcs. in everyone.

Nuts reach 8 cm in length, 3 cm in width. They weigh up to 20 g. Ripen in September-October. The yield of old trees reaches 200 kg per tree. Young ones bear fewer fruits. Kernels are high in fat and can turn rancid if stored for long periods. Pecans are eaten fresh and fried, used in cooking and confectionery.

Anyone who decides to grow these trees should take into account their impressive size. That is, you will have to allocate a considerable part of the garden for pecans. Moreover, a culture requires at least 2 trees for fruiting.

Winter sowing of pecan

Nuts need stratification before sowing. They are soaked for 3 days in water, and then planted before winter in holes with sand. Sprinkle with compost.

But nuts fell into my hands before the New Year, when it was already snowing. So after soaking, I put them in a pot of wet sawdust and put them in the refrigerator. And in April I planted it in my dacha, deepening it into the soil by 5-7 cm. A month later, I had 5 strong seedlings. Now they are one year old. If you believe the information that I found, seedlings will begin to bear fruit only at the age of 8-11 years.

In the south, pecans are also propagated by budding, grafting on other varieties of the same culture, and cuttings. And then the trees begin to bear fruit after 4-5 years.

In a greenhouse or in a room?

The culture grows both in the sun and in partial shade. Loves fertile, loose, well-drained soil. Withstands a short-term drop in temperature in winter to -30 ° C. Responsive to abundant watering, although it also tolerates drought.

Around young trees it is necessary to weed out, fertilize, loosen and mulch the soil. Seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place from the age of one. At first, they do not grow quickly - by 20-30 cm per year. Then their growth accelerates.

You can also grow pecans in a room, in a greenhouse, in a greenhouse. Only in dry room air, trees should be regularly sprayed. And in winter (from November to March) keep the plants in a cool room at a temperature of 8-12 °. During dormant periods, do not fertilize them and reduce watering.

Personally, I plan to sell 3 of my seedlings, and plant 2 in front of the country house. When they grow up, they will shade the yard in the summer heat.

If I am lucky enough to find pecan seedlings in nurseries, I will buy 2 more for planting behind the house so that cross-pollination with my seedlings occurs. If only not to come across saplings of the same variety as mine. Although this is unlikely, because more than 150 varieties of pecans have been bred. Among them, for the Russian climate, as I found out, are considered the most suitable: Major, Texts, Green River, and Indiana. Stewart and Success.

Oleg Yaroshenko, Krasnodar Territory

Below are other entries on the topic "Cottage and garden - do it yourself"

In addition to these methods, planting with nuts is actively used. Nuts that have fallen out of their skin on their own, without human assistance or natural conditions (wind), are considered fully ripe. They should be of normal brown color, without any tarnishing or putrid odor. Such fruits are planted in a specially prepared place immediately after harvest. Furrows are formed at least 10 cm deep. Nuts are laid down, sprinkled with earth on top.

The planting scheme should be such that there are at least 10, but not more than 15 seedlings per 1 m.

It is recommended to make gaps of about 1 m between the planted furrows. This planting method provides natural stratification - hardening of young seedlings in winter conditions. In spring, practically all planted nuts produce young, strong shoots.

If you plant seedlings in the spring, then the event is not required to take place earlier than April. Planting in the new year is a problematic procedure. There are several preparatory steps to be carried out before burrowing into the ground:

The planting scheme is fully consistent with the autumn planting. The main thing is to choose the right place for the constant growth of Kariya. The site should be bright, sunny, not shaded. It is desirable that the young tree be shielded from fierce winds and piercing drafts.

In the area where a young seedling is planted, water should not stagnate. Otherwise, the roots of the plant will begin to rot, and the young will die without even having time to take root.

Pecan grows very slowly. For the first 3 years, it may not reach 35 cm. Therefore, it should not be transplanted to a permanent place of residence until he is 4 years old. At this age, a young seedling is about 50 cm high.

A tree is planted for permanent residence in deep holes. Its depth should not be less than 60 cm, both in depth and in width. The nut does not tolerate acidic soil, so it should be fertilized with lime. This method will allow you to achieve neutral alkalinity. In addition to lime, rotted compost is poured into the depression. It will add fertility and nutritional value to the soil.

When planting a young tree, you need to remove all the soil from the roots. When planting, they are neatly leveled, sprinkling with earth on top. The soil around the trunk should be compacted to prevent hollow holes for moisture to accumulate. Periodic moderate watering is required.

When fertilizing is applied, the plant is actively growing.

In the spring, you need to feed it with nitrogen fertilizers. They stimulate the growth of young shoots. And in September it is required to fertilize with phosphorus and potassium. Such measures are necessary for the young. Older specimens need an addition of potassium salt, superphosphate and urea (nitrate) in the fall.

In the spring, it is imperative to prune - sanitary and anti-aging. In addition, broken, pest-affected and improperly growing branches should be removed. If you perform simple procedures, then a young pecan nut seedling planted with your own hands will be able to please with the first fruits 5-7 years after planting.

Composition and useful properties

Pecans are a very healthy nut. It contains a large amount of nutrients, trace elements and vitamins. It contains the following components:

• Vitamins E, A, K, C, group B
• Fatty acid
• Carbohydrates, proteins, water
• Trace elements of the periodic table
• Fructose and sucrose present

What properties does the nut have:

Thus, the nut is not only a useful product, but it has a large number of positive qualities that can improve the general condition of a person.

Application

Pecan has been used successfully in medicine. There are the following points in which the drug helps well:

• During therapy for skin diseases.
• For the treatment of internal organs.
• The fruits improve the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Nut grains have a beneficial effect on anemia.
• Reduces the possibility of developing eye diseases.
• Karia is often recommended for people who have had cancer as a prophylaxis.

Walnut oil plays an important role in dermatology. Its effect is able to eliminate fungal ailments and acne rashes. The product can be used both fresh, wiping it into gruel, and adding it to masks or creams for face and hair. Acting on the skin, walnut gruel restores a healthy look to the skin, increases elasticity and nourishes the upper layers of the epidermis with useful microelements.

The product can be eaten both raw and fried. The most popular dessert is Pecan with maple syrup. A feature of this type of nut is the rich taste of chocolate. This is why the product is so successful.

Harm and contraindications

Pecans are high in calories. In its raw form, the product contains 691 kcal. If you fry it, then the calorie content increases to 712 kcal. You can eat only 30 grams per day. nuts is the optimal daily volume. If you eat more than 100 gr. fruits, digestion problems may occur, there is a likelihood of vomiting and general weakness, an increase in temperature.

You should know the contraindications in order to know for sure that it is not recommended to feast on such a dessert:

With the manifestation of an allergic reaction, profuse sneezing, rashes on the skin may occur. With a large amount of product consumed in a difficult situation with allergies, the development of pulmonary edema takes place.

When mold appears on the upper shell of Karya, do not eat the nut. It deteriorates, loses its positive qualities, and instead is filled with toxic substances.
This way, you can easily grow Pecans in your backyard. It is not only a tasty fruit, but also has beneficial qualities. But before using it for food, you should familiarize yourself with the possible contraindications and consequences.

More information can be found in the video:

How to grow a nut from a nut

Yevgeny Anatolyevich Vasin, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, answers the question.
A walnut can be grown in this way if the purchased nut is not fried and fresh, that is, from this year's harvest. There are several ways to germinate nuts. The simplest is the autumn sowing of freshly harvested (purchased in the fall) nuts of the new harvest into the ground. The germination rate of last year's nuts will be (if any) very low. And if they were kept for several years, then your efforts to germinate are zero - tested by bitter personal experience.
For autumn planting, it is necessary to choose a place on a site where the soil is not acidic, since the nut grows better on soils from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. Dig a place on the bayonet of a shovel, make a trench 8-10 cm deep and put your nuts (it is better to plant a few for a greater guarantee) on the edge, cover them with soil. Watering during autumn planting is not necessary, since moisture accumulates naturally during the winter.
In places where there is little snow in winters, walnut beds must be mulched with fallen leaves, dry grass, etc., with a layer of 10-20 cm. In spring, this mulch will help preserve moisture under it. If the spring is dry and early, watering of the walnut beds is necessary. As the soil warms up, the nuts will begin to germinate, but not evenly, but within 5-10 days and up to 1 month. Sometimes nuts sprout after a year, so do not rush to discard unripe nuts until next spring.
In addition to retaining moisture in spring, mulch can protect young seedlings from sunburn. To do this, you need to select light mulching materials (sawdust, grass). If the mulching layer was large in the fall, then it must be reduced to 5 cm, but it should not be completely removed for the above reasons.
If you bought nuts in late autumn and did not have time to plant them in the ground before winter, then there are other ways of pre-sowing preparation. This is stratification and soaking prior to spring planting. Each of them has its own subtleties and nuances. The main thing is that nuts must go through a cold dormant period of 30 to 90 (120) days. It depends on the genetic characteristics of the seed (that is, nuts) and the timing of when you got the nuts.
Nuts with a thick shell (1.5 mm or more) should be laid on cold stratification, and with a shell thickness of up to 1.5 mm and especially less than 1.0 mm, it is better to soak and germinate in a warm place.
Stratification. Before laying for stratification, the nuts must be soaked in water at room temperature for 2-3 days with a daily change of water. Wet, steamed chilled sawdust or wet calcined sand, preferably river sand, can serve as a substrate for the stratification of nuts. Shallow wooden drawers or leaky pots are suitable as containers. First, put a layer of wet sawdust or sand into the container, put the nuts on the edge and cover them with a substrate (sawdust or sand) on top. Then place the container with nuts in a room with a temperature of +3 .. + 7 ° С.
Check the nuts once a month and, if necessary, moisten the substrate. Attention! The substrate should not be damp, but only wet, especially closer to spring. Otherwise, the nut will not germinate, but will become moldy. The moisture content of sawdust is determined as follows: when squeezed in a fist, water should ooze, not flow. Wet sand crumbles a little. Closer to spring, the nuts should be checked 1-2 times a week with stirring of the substrate. In case of early sprouting of roots, it is necessary to reduce the storage temperature to +1. . + 2 ° С, and before disembarking, gradually increase the temperature for several days.
Nuts are planted in the ground after the spring frosts have passed. From above, the soil is mulched with sawdust to preserve seedlings from sunburn. You can build a semblance of a greenhouse, but this is not necessary.
Another way is spring soaking. Before that, the nuts must go through "dry" cold storage at a temperature below + 10 ° С, it is better if it is within +1 .. + 5 ° С, for at least 30 days. Soaking the nuts begins about a month before they are supposed to be planted in the ground. It is convenient to do this in a wide, shallow container. The water should cover the nut halfway or slightly deeper. Some nuts float and some sink. It is undesirable for them to stay at the bottom for a long time - they may suffocate. If the nuts float too high, they can be discarded. They can be empty or dry. In the latter case, they need more time to gain moisture. At room temperature, the nuts are soaked for 2-5 (7) days until the flaps open. When the temperature rises to +30 .. + 35 ° C, the soaking process is reduced.
I had a case when a nut hatched in one day of soaking at a water temperature of +35 .. + 40 ° C, that is, it not only swelled, absorbing a sufficient amount of moisture, but its root hatched. It was a very thin nut with a shell thickness of 0.6 mm.
After the shells of the nuts have parted, they are ready for germination. These nuts are placed in a germination container (see above). The temperature in the room where germination takes place should be +25 .. + 28 ° С. The moisture content of sawdust has already been mentioned. Nuts germinate within 5-10 days, sometimes a little earlier. When the roots reach a length of 0.5-1.0 cm, the nuts are transferred to a cold storage with a temperature of +3 .. + 5 ° C and kept there until they are planted in the ground. When planting nuts in the spring, after stratification with or without roots, they are deepened by 5-7 cm. Before planting, trenches or holes are watered and the nuts are placed on moist soil. Sprinkle them on top with soil and mulch with sawdust.
The above are the main points of germination of Juglans nuts. Of course, there are other ways of pre-sowing preparation of walnut seeds, but these are subtleties that are important for specialists.
When seedlings appear, the main care is reduced to weeding, loosening the soil, watering. In the middle lane, the best fertilizer is ash. From the second half of summer it is given for better ripening of wood and preparation for winter. For the winter, it is better to mulch an annual plant.
In a previous publication about walnuts, it was said that they are powerful, spreading trees with a powerful crown. This statement is partly true, since walnut trees, like people, are also giants under 20 m, and there are also dwarfs two meters in height. It all depends on the genotype. But this is a separate conversation. If you have any questions about this topic, you can contact the editorial office.
Pay attention to Photo 2- not a seedling, but a grafted walnut seedling that can be found commercially.

E. A. Vasin,
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Tula

Enlarge text

The pecan nut is a long-lived deciduous tree, up to 40-60 meters high. The crown of the plant is in the form of a tent, branched, up to 40 meters in diameter. The trunk is upright, grayish-brown in color with cracks. The buds are yellow, pubescent. Shoots at the beginning of growth are also with brownish pubescence, but become bare over time. The leaves are large, long, rich green color, unpaired and feathery, arranged alternately. Leaves are compound, they consist of lanceolate-elongated leaves, located opposite. Walnut flowers are represented by female and male flowers, located at the tops of the shoots: male flowers droop, female flowers are sessile. The tree blooms from late spring to June. Trees are pollinated by the wind, therefore, for the ovary, it is imperative to plant next to other trees.

The fruits of the tree are elongated drupes, up to 8 cm long. Their shell is fleshy and leathery, which eventually lignifies and cracks. Oval brown walnut with a pointed tip, smooth and wrinkled. Inside, the nuts are oily, similar to walnuts, but smoother and have no partitions. Nuts can be eaten, they taste sweet.

Fruits ripen from early to mid-autumn, and then fall off. The tree bears fruit every year and abundantly after 9-11 years from the moment of sowing. If the tree is grown by grafting, it gives the first harvest after 4 years. In the first years of growth, yields are about 5 kg, later - up to 15 kg. Mature trees can yield up to 200 kg of fruit. The tree has been growing for about three hundred years.

Where can pecans be grown?

Pecans can grow in well-lit areas as well as in partial shade. Needs fertile, loosened soil with good drainage. It is also important that there is no water on the site, and the soil is good for air and water. It can withstand severe, but not prolonged frosts. Regular watering is required for good growth and fruiting, although the tree is resistant to arid climates. With good watering, the tree will produce bountiful harvests of large, flavorful nuts every year. Young trees must be mulched, cleaned a nearby area of ​​weeds and loosened the soil. The annual growth is small at the beginning - 20-30 cm, but over time the growth is activated.

Pecans are also grown in indoor, greenhouse conditions, in a greenhouse. If it is planted in a room where the air is rather dry, it must be sprayed with water. In winter, until the beginning of spring, the plant should be at a temperature of 8-12 C °. When the plant is dormant, watering and fertilization are stopped. The tree can bear fruit in 4-8 years of planting, while the harvest is not abundant - 2 kg, but this is only temporary. With age, not only the tree grows, but also the number of nuts.

Planting and breeding pecan nuts

Pecans are propagated in several ways: by cuttings, budding, grafting or seeds. The most common method for this crop is seed. The tree is planted in spring or autumn. Nuts that are already falling are ripe, and they are used for reproduction. At the same time, it is important that the nuts fall off on their own without someone's help and not because of the wind. They should be brown with no dark spots and a pleasant scent. After collecting all the fallen nuts, you can immediately sow or stratify them.

Autumn planting of pecan

If planting is carried out in the fall, stratification is not necessary, the seeds can be immediately planted in a prepared place. For this, small grooves are made 10 cm deep, nuts are placed in them, sprinkled with soil. Optimal planting if you place from 10 to 15 seedlings per 1 meter of the plot. In this case, there must be a distance of at least one meter between the furrows. Thanks to such an autumn planting, stratification will take place naturally - the seedlings will be hardened in winter conditions. In the spring, all the nuts will sprout and be more stable than with a spring planting.

It is recommended to plant in a sunny area, protected from the wind, where moisture stagnates. If the groundwater is standing, the plant will rot and not even take root. When sowing nuts, immediately to a permanent place, the site is pre-fertilized with compost. During the first years of the tree, the growth of the tree is slow. it still forms the root system. After three years, the annual growth will increase from 30 cm to 50 cm. At this time, the plant can be transplanted to a permanent place.

The optimal size of the pit is 60 x 60 cm. If the soil is acidic, the right amount of lime is added to it. In this case, you need to make a nutrient mixture for planting from soil and compost. The roots are placed so that they are perfectly spaced to the sides and not curled up. It is necessary to place a support in the hole and tie a seedling to it. It is necessary to place the seedling so that the neck of its root is flush with the ground. After planting, you need to compact, water well and mulch with humus or other organic matter. It is desirable to plant trees at a distance of 15 meters. A young tree must be constantly watered, fertilized and cleaned of weeds. Fruiting will begin after 8-10 years.

Spring planting of pecan

This planting takes place from April after mandatory stratification. Before sowing nuts, they need to be processed and hardened. To do this, the seeds are poured into water for a couple of days, after which they are spread on moistened sawdust or peat so that they germinate. Next, the seeds need to be moved to a cold room, for example, to a balcony. In this case, you need to ensure that the soil does not dry out, and the air is less than 4 ° C. In such conditions, they should be for about two months. The seeds can then be moved to a warm room and sown in small furrows. The seeding pattern is the same as for the autumn planting. Sprinkle the seeds with humus and water them constantly. It should also be planted in a well-lit area where there is no strong wind and no water.

You can plant a nut in your garden or in a greenhouse. To transplant a grown plant, use a large pot or box. Indoors, it is looked after in the same way as other houseplants. That is, it is imperative to water, feed, spray with water. From the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring, the tree should be left in a cool dormancy - stop watering, feeding and ensure a temperature of 8-12 ° C.

Growing a tree with a seedling is more difficult because they are quite delicate and often die at the slightest damage to the roots. The root system of the tree is mixed, it consists of the main and lateral roots, which are well developed. It is imperative to plant in fertile soil with good drainage, in which the water will not stagnate. After the tree is tied up, moistened and mulch applied. To propagate the tree by grafting, use a rootstock - white pecan. With this method, the walnut yields harvests after four years.

How to care for your pecan

• In the early stages of growth, pecans should be watered regularly and abundantly, and weeds should be cleared.
• It is especially important to water in a dry hot summer so that the soil does not dry out.
• It is also advisable to feed the tree and prune it for crown formation and rejuvenation. Pruning for shaping is carried out only on seedlings; adult nuts do not need to be trimmed. In the spring, to rejuvenate the tree, cut off dry, frozen and damaged branches, as well as branches that thicken the crown.

Pecans are attractive to gardeners because they hardly get sick and are not damaged by pests. It is impossible to defeat even a nut moth, because tree nuts are buried under a whole shell compared to walnuts, which have a soft partition between the halves of the shell.

Fertilizing and feeding pecans

In the spring, it is imperative to fertilize the tree with nitrogen-containing preparations that stimulate the growth of young shoots. At the beginning of autumn, it is worth applying fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium in order to stimulate the ripening of the wood and the laying of a good bountiful harvest in the future. Thus, young trees are fed, while adult plants are fertilized in autumn with potassium salt, superphosphate and urea.

If you provide a tree with proper care and plant it correctly, then it will give yields in five years.

How to choose and store pecans when buying?

When buying nuts of this tree, you need to monitor the condition of its kernel - it must be whole and fleshy. If you are purchasing inshell nuts, it is best to choose clean and free from any damage. Moreover, according to their size, they must be heavy. To keep the nuts in good condition for longer, it is recommended to keep them in an airtight container, refrigerator or freezer. Pecans are stored in the refrigerator for about 4 months, and in the freezer for up to six months. Before eating nuts, they need to be warmed up in room conditions to 20-23⁰С.

Pecan is an exotic tree in our area, native to North America. Today pecan grows successfully in Central Asia, Crimea and some regions of Russia.

Common pecan or hazel Illinois belongs to the genus Hickory and the Walnut family. It is similar in many ways to a walnut. Under favorable conditions, it lives up to four hundred years. The height of the pecan reaches sixty meters, and its crown, wide and spreading, has a diameter of up to four meters. The trunk of the tree is straight, covered with slightly cracked light brown bark. In adult specimens, the trunk can reach a width of up to three meters. Pecan leaves are large, lanceolate with a dense structure and smooth surface. Edible fruits. They have an oblong shape up to eight centimeters long and up to three centimeters wide. Nuts are collected in bunches of a maximum of eleven fruits. Kernels of exotic nuts have a sweetish taste and high calorie content. Fruits ripen in mid-September.

Pecan nut is an unpretentious plant. Some of its species can safely withstand fairly low temperatures, can tolerate drought and infertile soil well.

The most popular Pecan varieties are:

• text;
• success;
• Indiana;
• major;
• stewart;
• greenriver.

This type of nut has a lot of useful properties. Its wood, due to its high quality characteristics, is used in the furniture industry. The fruits are used in the food industry, medicine and cosmetology. Walnut kernels are characterized by high nutritional value, so they are used as food in case of loss of appetite, loss of strength and fatigue. Just a few nuclei are enough to replenish the body with nutrients, because they also contain a lot of useful elements (potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium and a whole group of vitamins). In the food industry, pecan oil is used to produce walnut oil, which is almost as good as olive oil in terms of its taste and useful properties.

Walnut oil is used for colds, headaches, strengthening the immune system. It is also used in the form of lotions and compresses to treat sunburn, irritation, and insect bites.

In addition, the oil perfectly nourishes the skin. Therefore, it is recommended to rub it into the skin to nourish it.

But despite such a large number of useful properties, the tree is not widespread in our region. And this is primarily due to the lack of knowledge on how to grow Pecan.

Reproduction and cultivation

Pecan (Caria Illinois) refers to unpretentious plants. Perhaps the most important condition for its cultivation will be the correct determination of the planting site. The tree belongs to centenarians, which are characterized by large growth (50-60 meters) and an extensive crown. Therefore, when planting seedlings, this feature must be taken into account.

You can plant a Pecan as a seedling purchased from specialized crop farms, or grow it yourself, since the nut has a good ability to reproduce using seeds or vegetatively.

And so, you can get an adult tree on your own using the following propagation methods:

• cuttings;
• stock;
• budding;
• grow from seeds.

Consider the seed method. Ripe walnut fruits, which have fallen off on their own, are taken as planting material. They can be planted both in autumn and spring.

Autumn planting is carried out as follows. Pits are prepared in the soil about ten centimeters deep, nuts are planted in them, watered and sprinkled with earth. Shoots appear in the spring. It should be noted that planting seeds before winter gives good results, in spring the germination rate reaches almost one hundred percent, and the seedlings are strong and viable.

To carry out a spring planting, it is necessary to complete a number of preparatory measures. Nuts need to be stratified. To do this, they are kept in cool water for two days, and then placed in wet sawdust and left in a cool place for two months, periodically moistening. Then they are brought into the room, and in the spring, in mid-April, they are planted in open ground.

In order for the seedlings to grow and develop well, they need to be planted in a well-lit place, and the soil must be fertilized with compost before planting.

The pecan grows rather slowly. Therefore, for the first three years, it can not be transplanted to a permanent place, but grown in the same place where the seeds were planted. At the initial stage, the seedlings form a root. Therefore, the increase in plant size is insignificant. By the age of three, the nut seedling grows only up to half a meter. You can now continue growing in a permanent location. The trees are planted in planting holes, the size of which should be at least sixty centimeters in depth and width. In order to achieve neutrality, a little lime and compost are added to the soil for nutrition. Then a nut tree is carefully planted in the hole, while leveling its roots. Soil is sprinkled on top, compacted a little and watered well. It is recommended to cover the soil with peat around the seedling. In order for the trees to take root faster and begin to grow actively, they need to be watered and fed regularly.

In the spring, the nut needs nitrogen-containing fertilizers. And in the fall, you need to feed the pecans with phosphorus and potassium. This applies to young trees, and adult specimens that have been growing for more than twenty-five years need to be fed with potassium salt, saltpeter, superphosphate.

Caring for a Pecan, in addition to watering and fertilizing, should also include taking care of its crown. With the onset of spring, it is necessary to carry out sanitary and formative pruning, removing dry and damaged branches.

With proper care, self-grown nuts from seeds begin to bear fruit no earlier than ten years later.

You can achieve earlier fruiting, at the age of four to five years, if you grow Pecans using scion or budding. But these methods of propagation require a little more knowledge and skills, therefore, most often gardeners use either the seed method of propagation or acquire quite adult seedlings at the age of three to five years.

The nut has a strong immunity, and practically no garden pests and diseases are terrible for him. Under favorable growing conditions and sufficient space, this specimen will bear a fairly large number of fruits (an adult tree can produce up to two hundred kilograms of nuts) up to three hundred years of age.

Pecan nut is an exotic species that grows in North America, Central Asia, Crimea and southern regions of Russia. This species has many similarities to the walnut and is also very beneficial for the human body. By consuming a small amount of this product, you can prevent the appearance of many dangerous pathologies: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, cancer or gallstone diseases.

The pecan nut is an unpretentious plant and can grow in different climates. There are varieties that are able to withstand low temperatures, prolonged drought, and also grow in soil poor in organic matter and minerals.

Among the most popular varieties of pecans, you can find: stewart, greenriver, indiana, textan, major, success. The availability of nutrients depends on the type of nut and where the tree grows.

They all have a different composition, but each is useful in its own way, since minerals, vitamins and trace elements can be contained to a greater extent.

Video "Description"

From the video you will learn many interesting facts about the type of pecan.

Planting and breeding

Pecans are propagated in several ways: grafting, seedlings, budding and seeds.

The seeds are usually harvested after the nut is fully ripe - in the fall. After that, they are sown in prepared soil or stratified for several months before spring sowing. First, the beds with deep furrows are prepared. It is important that the seeds are immersed in the soil at least 7 centimeters. On average, one and a half or two dozen seeds are sown per one meter of the bed.

When they are already in the ground, it will be necessary to fill in the planting material with it, and then moisten the soil. You need to pour a little water so that it saturates the ground, but does not stagnate on the surface. To make it evaporate more slowly, soil mulching can be used.

As a result, the emergence of seedlings can be observed in a month.

At first, the pecan grows rather slowly. During the year, the stem of the plant can grow up to 30 centimeters. By the age of three, the growth will be about 60 centimeters. Strong good seedlings in the first year can already be transplanted to a permanent place where they will root. Gardeners leave weaker plants for another 1-2 years until they get stronger.

When the seedlings are preparing for planting, the root system should be consistently hydrated, and can be fed with fertilizers if necessary.

You can grow pecans in a greenhouse, a greenhouse, and even on a balcony, if the owners are ready to allocate time for this. To transplant a grown seedling, they usually take a large, spacious container. A wooden box will do.

It is imperative to take into account what cultivation features must be observed for individual varieties of nuts. For example, hazel needs a long period of complete rest, and at the same time, from November until the beginning of spring, the plant should be kept at a temperature of about 10-12 degrees. During this time, the frequency of watering decreases.

Pecans can be grown from seedlings, but owners should take into account that this method has its own difficulties. The main problem is that the finished seedlings have a very sensitive root system. Even with the slightest damage that may not be noticed, the plant can die. Therefore, when transporting pecan seedlings, you need to be extremely careful. The root system of the hazel variety has lateral and central roots (mixed system). Before planting a seedling in the soil, you need to dig a deep and wide hole so as not to break the processes. It is desirable that the land is fertile and soft. If there is an admixture of clay in it, then you can first add some sand to create drainage. Thus, the water after irrigation will not stagnate.

After planting the nut in the ground, it will be necessary to install a level support next to it, to which the seedling is tied. Then the earth is watered and covered with a small layer of mulch.

If there is no good fertile land on the site, then you need to prepare it yourself before planting or purchase it in a specialized store.

Good soil increases seed germination and also allows seedlings to grow better. In the future (after a few years) this will no longer be critical, since the plant will take over and take root.

Care

For pecans, no special care measures are required, since the plant itself is unpretentious. Of course, if you provide favorable conditions for its growth, you can significantly improve yields, as well as prevent the appearance of diseases or pests.

Gardeners will need to periodically break through the weeds that will grow in the area near the walnut. When the plants get stronger and begin to stretch upward, it will be necessary to make holes in order to better control the amount of water that goes into irrigation. You will also need to periodically loosen the ground when it is nailed by rain or trampled underfoot.

Caring for a pecan, in addition to watering and fertilizing, should also include taking care of its crown. With the onset of spring, it is necessary to carry out sanitary and formative pruning, removing dry damaged branches. With proper care, self-grown walnuts from seeds begin to bear fruit no earlier than ten years later.

You can achieve earlier fruiting, at the age of four or five years, if you grow a nut using a scion or budding. But these methods of propagation require special knowledge and skills, therefore, most often gardeners use either the seed method of propagation or acquire ready-made adult seedlings at the age of 3-5 years.

Diseases and pests

Pecans are difficult to crack without tools. Its shell does not have a single crack, not a single hole (like, for example, walnut). This is both a plus - various insects cannot penetrate inside, and it is also a minus - it is difficult to split and remove the core due to the dense shell.

The plant is practically not susceptible to diseases compared to walnuts. In damp weather and shade, mold can appear on the trunk, which can lead to decay of the tree. You can fight pathogenic fungi with the help of chemicals or some folk remedies - a solution of ammonia, baking soda or vinegar.

Fertilization and feeding

As with any other types of nuts, soil fertilization and plant nutrition can be carried out using organic additives and special preparations.

Fertilizers must be applied carefully. It is important to consult with experienced growers regarding the dosage of different substances for each type of nut. When using drugs, carefully read the instructions for use.