Everytime the wind blows. The wood is great for bar-b-que and the tree doesn't seem to mind at all. Mine is a bit lopsided still from Rita.

Tally HO!

Oh Yeah...

It's happening all over San Antonio. We lost a central leader on one of our trees.

Pecan trees are the worst for lossing their limbs. My dad had a limb go right through the back window of his car once and has had many dents and dings on cars from his tree.
It's just their nature to shed limbs.

bev - We have a tree service and they said that Pecans like to suck up water - due to the record rainfalls we have been having that Pecans have experienced dense growth and that growth is adding extra weight to the canopy, making the tree more susceptible to storm damage and limb breakage. He suggested having the tree pruned so unexpected breakage does not hit your car (like Barb) or house. He said it would be better for the tree to have it trimmed vs. breaking... Hope this helps!

We have 11 mature pecan trees in our back yard. It seems like all I have done this summer has been to cut up one tree branch after another. I have a huge stack of wood for the smoker. We are going to have a huge crop of pecans there are any branches left, LOL.
Mary

we have several old pecan trees and have not had them limbed up in the 10 years we've been here.

Surprisingly, we have only lost one fairly large branch from the top of the canopy and it did split off while green. We lost some small branches but no big ones.

They are loaded with nuts but maybe ours is less heavy because of the squirrels! I saw one of my favorite boys a few days ago. He "Bubba Elivs" had a donut of fat around the base of his tail! They rarely come down to mooch these days.

We've also has less rain that y'all have had, and that's probably a big part of it. But I like to think the squirrels are helpful.

I've got a huge one in front yard, and nearly the same in back, that my parents planted in 1964. I decided they are too messy (flowers, pecans (staining the driveway/sidewalk, denting my car (so car in garage all pecan bombing season) an d this year, lots of big branches falling. Must be soft and heavy from being so well irrigated by this year's rain, a huge leaf crop (still on the trees, will be coming down up to Christmas), and now a huge pecan crop. All the pecan trees in the neighborhood have lost huge limbs this summer.

I'm going to cut them both down next spring. Junky trees.

And forgot to mention the brown clumps from tents of tent worms that last well past the all the leaves dropping (but no tents this year). Previous 2 years were horrible for tent worms.

We're going to chop ours down this winter also. They break too easily and at least twice branches have fallen on the neighbors wires & knocked out her power. Plus with hurricanes/tropical storms we are always worrying about it coming through the roof.
I read that the branches break easily to help keep the trees from blowing over in high winds, common in Texas!
Tally HO!

unautre - I feel your pain, I used to have "sister trees" in California. ie. 7 trees all connected at the base. Pecans are one of the fastest growing trees, at least out there. I swear they were always dumping something... leaves, caterpillars (those green pollen flowers), pecan husks, then the pecans, branches... ICK! Thankfully she was planted away from our rooftop, electrical wires and cars, but what a MESS all year. Did have nice shade though! But I think I would rather get it from another kind of tree. Oh yeah, those pecans? DON'T let them sit in your yard... they sprout like crazy and put down a tap root 500 feet long...ok, not 500 feet, but long enough that you have to dig each one out by hand or it will just regenerate from the piece you left! I loved the pecans, but just how many can a girl eat? :o)
Straight Pecans
Pecan Pie
Zucchini Bread w/pecans
Pecan & apple bread
banana bread w/pecans
Choc Chip Cookies w/pecans
pie crust w/pecans
Spinach salad w/cranberries & pecans...

You forgot pecan pralines.

;-)

I have about four huge pecan trees they are my neighbors most of it is overpowering my small 2 bedroom home I am on fixed incomeI cannot park my car anywhere else because I've had two cars to be toltalled on the street my husband's truck got hit twice and I had to have it pulled in my yard now my car has dents in it from the pecans falling not only that branches are just falling without the wind these trees are huge.. Do not mention squirrels that swing from trees and have eaten holes in my eaves. This owner does not live in the house but he buys houses and rent them out. A huge branch fell across the street and knocked out my neighbors lights a fewimures ago.