This the first time I try to sprout nut trees. I collected the pecan nuts from a friend of mine and soaked them in water for few days (4-5 days), at first they all float then started sinking one by one each day. I put them in a container and covered them with wet tissue paper. After 3 weeks one started sprouting, then each couple of days I find another one sprouting.
Do they grow well where you are? We have two very large pecan trees that came up from fallen nuts about 20-25 years ago. Some years I am begging people to take pecans for free but most years the crop is almost non-existent since we have been in a drought for so long.
I did plant them, now I wait and see if a shoot comes out. Will keep you posted. Hi Mart, I did not yet, it takes some time for mail to arrive here . I sent you the Parsley and Celery seeds via registered mail a week ago, pls let me know if you get them. Thanks all for passing by.
By all means plant them but be very patent pecan trees are very slow growing. Also most of the garden varieties are grafted trees so the nut you plant may be very different from the nut you get. It's much safer to buy a amall pecan tree specially bred for fast growth and large nuts. A friend of my father sprouted and planted a large soft shelled nut and 10 years later he began getting small very hard pecans from the tree and wound up cutting th tree down. If you want the joy of growing a tree from a nut make sure ya reasearch the not to be sure it is an old growth plant.
Thanks, Cajuncappy for the advice. Here in my place I have no choice, there is only one tree that I know at a friend's back garden. I also took cuttings from that tree and will try to root them.
Good luck and maybe you could ask the owner if they know if it was a grafted nut. We had 2 trees but a huricane knocked one over. Pecans are very healthy and wonderful nuts.
Those shoots look lovely and healthy. I'm sure it won't be too long before you see the first leaves appearing.
The pecan saplings that I pull up by the dozens from my yard and gardens every Spring have leaves at the tip by the time they are about 4 inches tall, the green section at the tip of your sapling are the leaves and they will be open very soon. That is a good size to put in the ground. Since they send down a very long tap root (the reason they are so drought tolerant) don't wait too long to transplant them into the ground or into a very deep pot. I have pulled some up with a 6-10 inch long root coming from the nut and the above ground portion was only about 4-6 inches tall.
Thanks Toni, that is a very useful advice. Our soil is hard when dry and rain is rare (Yearly rate is less than 250mm). I do not know if the Pecan can penetrate this kind of soil but I will try one and see how it reacts. Here is a photo of our soil type:
Put one in the ground. Should I fertilize it. Is it OK at this age of the seedling? what is the type of fertilizer shall I use? I have NPK 20 20 20, is that OK and what is the amount to be used? and finally how often shall I use fertilizer? Thanks
