Nut Trees for the Southern Plains

These selections make excellent ornamentals in addition to producing edible fruit

compare to those experience in more northerly regions , we here in the Southern Plains are relatively limited in our excerption of nut trees . fortunately for us , our beneficial crackpot - endure Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is the pecan ( Carya illinoinensis , Zones 6–9 ) , which I would put up against any other tree in a competition of tree appearance and nut flavor . It ’s a stalwart beauty , and there is a pecan diverseness for virtually every area throughout our realm . We can also successfully grow sinister walnut ( Juglans nigra , Zones 4–9 ) here , which is a delicious aboriginal mintage well accommodate to our dirt and climate . you may expect pecan Tree and sinister walnut tree Tree grown from semen to start out producing nuts at about eight years . This , of course , look on a numeral of variables , include site status , weather , variety , and individual genetic science .

Pecan

The pecan was an excellent choice for the official land Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree of Texas . It is beautiful in the landscape painting , it bears yummy yield , the wood is of high quality , and there are varieties fit to nearly all of Texas and the rest of the Southern Plains . It is a stately tree diagram , regularly reach summit of 70 to 100 feet , and it grows estimable in deep , well - drain grease . change suited to the most northern part of the Southern Plains let in ‘ Caddo ’ , ‘ Colby ’ , and ‘ Giles ’ , as they can tolerate the longer wintertime and colder temperatures of USDA Zone 6 . ‘ Mount ’ , ‘ Paruque ’ , and ‘ Kanza ’ are excellent diversity for all of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle . In Texas the success of different pecan smorgasbord is divided by a line fly the coop northerly to south , ground on stain types and disease resistance . variety that have poor ohmic resistance to pecan scab disease should be grown in drier western mood . These include ‘ Western ’ , ‘ Sioux ’ , and ‘ Wichita ’ . ‘ Wichita ’ is the most productive Carya illinoensis grown in Texas and is idealistic for the fundamental and western office of the state . ‘ Siouan ’ and ‘ Western ’ both make splendid yard trees because of their secure limb and well-off - to - train limb social organization , while also producing delectable nuts . Other varieties flourish east of the dividing line where the soil are not calcareous . easterly dearie are ‘ suitable ’ and ‘ Kiowa ’ . ‘ Kiowa ’ make attractive tree that bear large , just - calibre pecan . ‘ suitable ’ is the salmagundi my family always attempt out during pecan season . introduce to the marketplace in 1930 , it is a very sometime commercial variety that is still highly prized due to its big , splendid pecans . A few varieties , such as ‘ Cheyenne ’ and ‘ Choctaw ’ , do well in both the easterly and western regions , with ‘ Cheyenne ’ reaching a smaller sizing than most pecan trees .

pecan ripen between mid - September and early December depending on the location and the variety . They are ready to reap when the junkie begin fall down to the ground and the KO’d husks , which start out unripened , begin to await clean with John Brown . Pecans are collect from the undercoat , which is as simple as tossing them into a paper bag or a bucket . Do n’t try on to shell them right away ; give them a workweek or two to cure . This is well done in mesh or composition bag or by spreading them out where their wet content can stabilise . After that , you may shell them with a veritable nutcracker .

Black walnut

The easterly American inglorious walnut is the only mintage that can compete with the pecan for economic , historical , and cultural importance in our part . While not as immense as a pecan tree , the easterly American grim walnut is still a tumid Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , regularly hand heights and widths of 50 to 75 feet . Like the Carya illinoensis , it prefers deep , well - run out soil , and it flourishes in bottomlands and along brook depository financial institution . The woodwind instrument of this specie is prized and was historically used for article of furniture and stock . The ruffianly disastrous shells of the nuts was used as a dark dyestuff in compound times . The classifiable flavor of black walnuts , which mass seem to bang or detest , constitute them worth the trouble of shell them ( their knocked out husks are notoriously intemperate to remove ) for those who have sex their unique flavor . Keep in nous that walnut tree exudate a chemical substance hollo juglone , which concentrate in the dirt around the tree and prevent sensitive plants from grow within about 50 feet of the body . Therefore , choose your site cautiously if you desire to plant black walnut tree , especially in modest landscapes .

Their knotty out stalk make mordant walnuts more hard to shell than Carya illinoinsis , but the process is much the same . They come into matureness in September and October , when they can be picked up off the ground . take away the tough KO’d husk with a tongue or by crush the husks underfoot . Then localise the severely - shelled nut that remains on newsprint to dry out for several day . At that pointedness you’re able to crack the dried junky with a nuthatch . Black walnut stain your hands ( and anything else ! ) so some folks like to weary gloves while processing them .

For folks who would like a nut tree in their K but do n’t have the blank or the soil profundity demand for a pecan or eastern American black walnut , the Texas black walnut ( Juglans microcarpa , Zones 6–8 ) may be a better option . It get through a mature meridian of only about 20 feet with an attractive , little phase . The walnut themselves are minuscule and are mostly made of shell , which makes them less appropriate for human consumption and makes the Tree comparatively more valuable as smaller landscape gardening trees .

Nut tree have a valuable place in our edible landscapes . While the Brobdingnagian majority of our edible gardening specie are tender annual , nut case trees such as pecan and walnut tree provide us with garden crops that can last for multiple generation . A well - placed pecan or walnut will provide many decennary of subtlety , visual appeal , and solid food for their owners .

— Karen Beaty is a horticulturalist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin , Texas .

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Pecan nut ripening

Pecan trees make excellent yard trees in addition to producing tasty pecans.Photo: Lynn Greyling

pecan tree

The pecan is a Southern staple for several reasons: delicious fruit, gorgeous foliage, and a plethora of varieties to suit different needs.Photo: Gretta Blankenship via Pixabay

Black walnut tree