I posted this question over on tractorbynet and JazzDad and one other fella responded, but I figured I'd put it out here, too.
I like pecans and most other nuts, and I've planted five grafted pecans, four grafted Carpathian walnuts one seedling C walnut, and two hardy almonds. In several years, I might actually get some nuts! The pecans are Peruque, Pawnee and Colby. These are all probably OK for here in the middle of Missouri, though they might bebefit from global warming as we transition from Zone 5 to Zone 6. The grafted trees all ran $20-$30 each, and I have each individual tree protected from deer with 5' circles of fence. I've done this with all my fruit trees, too, because the deer will eat anything that doesn't eat them first. My son in law, his two brothers, and their dad harvested 11 deer so far this season, and they let many pass by waiting for the tasty ones......we have deer. In past years, I planted 50 each of black walnut and pecan seedlings from the conservation department. I found one the other day in a fence row where I had forgotten I put it....the others fed deer....all are gone.
This year, for the first time, the conservation department is distributing seedlings of named varieties of pecans. They sell a bundle with 10 each of Mullahy, Colby, Posey, and 5 Peruque. Now I know that seedling trees may very well not be true to the parent strain, but this bundle is $21 for 35 seedlings, and even if some of the trees don't produce the kinds of nuts they should, some will, and some may well be superior. Plus, in some ways, seedlings are easier to grow. For instance, in some cases seedling trees are less likely than grafted trees to try to make multiple main trunks. I know that most of my grafted nut trees have required pruning to keep a single main trunk, and I've got that pruning job to do again this winter.
So....I ordered the bundle, which will be delivered in March or April. These will be bare root trees, so I'll have to do something with them very soon after they arrive. I'm not planning to create a commercial nut operation; this would definitely not be the way to go for that. However, I have a nice field, with good drainage and sun, and there are several native pecan trees on my property as well. I'd like to fill that field with nut trees, but there's no way I will fence the whole field against deer...too expensive. And individual fence circles is out of the question, too, for that many trees. So, what I'm thinking is that I can plant the seedlings in a much smaller fenced in area, close together, like in a tree nursery. I'd let them grow for a year or two, and then transplant the best ones to individual places and protect them with fence circles if they are still too small to stand any browsing by the deer.
The problem is that pecans can be difficult to transplant. I'd need to plant them in such a way as to optimize the process. I have thought about potting them and sinking the pots, to make care somewhat easier. Potted trees would be harder to keep watered during the hot months, and their roots would freeze during the winter, but burying the pots might help with both of those problems. On the other hand, perhaps simply planting the trees in heavilly amended soil, perhaps on mounds, might also work.
Anyone have suggestions? I know simply planting them where I want them to be eventually would be easier, but believe me, the deer would mow them down very quickly.
Chuck
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