Re., Re.: [Arid_gardener] Pecan Tree Question

[Olin Miller]

The Coop Ext pub at

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1269/

does not list Mahan as a recommended variety.  But according to a commercial
site at

http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_trees/br40nuts_pecan.html

"MAHAN PECAN Largest pecan, thin shell,fine quality. Old variety, a parent
of most of the newer varieties. Very late maturing, does best in low desert
climates. 250hours. Self-fruitful."

Rootstocks are selected to grow a more vigorous tree and trees grown from
rootstocks are usually not very productive.  But if yours truly was a Mahan
rootstock, it should be okay for pollination and winter chill hours.  So
maybe your rootstock was not Mahan and it may be one that requires
pollination.

Olin
===============================================

----- Original Message ----- From: "Olin Miller" <dergartenarzt at att.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 11:50 PM


> Do your neighbors also have pecan trees?  Most nut trees require another
> pollenizer tree.  Some pecan trees are said to be self-fertile, e. g.
> Western Schley, but the harvest is always better with two trees. It may
> also
> take up to 12 years for a tree to reach full production so 17 years should
> be long enough.  If you bought the tree locally, and if it was grafted,
> the
> root stock is probably suitable for this area.
>
> Pecan trees also require nitrogen which is scarce in our desert soil.
> Zinc
> deficiency also affects the health of the tree.  But if the tree seems
> healthy it may be that it just needs pollination.
>
> Olin
> ======================================
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ellen Stobaugh" <lnrosy2000 at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 4:12 PM
>> ...
>> When we moved to our home 17 years ago one of the
>> first things that we did was to put in a pecan tree.
>> The graft died and the root stock began to grow. I
>> don't know if the root stock or the graft was Mahan,
>> but the name sounds familiar to me. Anyway, about a
>> season or so ago the tree actually got the catkins on
>> it, but no female blossoms. I figured it would be the
>> same each year. But, lo and behold the other day my
>> husband came in and told me that I'd really messed up.
>> He dropped one poor, little pecan in my hand. It
>> tasted pretty good. What can I do to encourage it to
>> have more pecans on it? Thanks for your time and help.
>