The trees can grow as far north as Wisconsin but there will rarely be enough heat to properly ripen the nuts.
It is a reasonable expectation that you will have enough heat to ripen selected varieties of pecans in the regions that are YELLOW, enough heat to ripen many/most pecan varieties in the regions that are ORANGE and to have plenty of heat to ripen all pecan varieties in the areas that are DARK RED.
The areas that are AQUA and BLUE can ripen some pecans, some years but the pecans will be just one-step-up from wild seedlings in terms of size and ease-of-shelling. Frankly, most growers in those areas will be better served by planting Shellbark Hickories and/or named varieties of Black Walnuts
I'm in the aqua area of SW Idaho. Planted a couple pecan seedlings two years ago. They're growing slowly so far and being 66 I may never see any nuts, but I like to try odd plants for the area that may or may not work. Planted four pawpaw trees last spring. I also have a fairly cold hardy pomegranate coming this spring. I have approximately fifteen different fruit, nut , and berry plants on the property right now, most of which are producing quite well. I have a nice mulberry of which I get to taste a couple berries a year. 10,000 (expletive deleted) robins descend on it every year and grab every berry the instant it shows a tinge of pink, let alone gets ripe.
ReplyDeleteSurely somebody must have told you, "Mulberries taste like chicken"
DeleteThe recipe calls for a seasoning called birdlime.
Here in Zone 9 (deep red for pecans) I can grow many tropical varieties and start seedlings early, but there is always the possibility of a heartbreaking late February/early March freeze that wrecks months of progress.
ReplyDeleteWe host the neighborhood cat hangout, so birds don’t get my mulberries or blueberries but the raccoons always get to the pawpaws before I do. I suspect a lead deficiency, I might supplement this year.