Non-hybridized pecan trees

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I was looking at various varieties of pecan trees online, such as Caddo, Elliott, Stuart, Kanza, etc., and they all appear to be hybridized. Are there any pecan trees you can buy that aren't hybridized and would be considered "native" or "heirloom"?

Thanks for any info.

Featured Answer

jerry63

9 years ago

Those are pure pecan . Selections of native and some selective breeding . Sort of best x best . I would not consider them hybrid . Native wild types are available but the nuts are usually small . Hican is a hybrid of hickory and pecan . I bought some small native pecan at tractor supply this past spring .

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Comments (6)

neptune25
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the info, jerry63. Dave's Garden seems to list those varieties as hybrids, but maybe they are not being precise in their terminology there.

I hope your native pecan tree(s) is doing well.
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jerry63
9 years ago
Hybrid is a selling point I guess . Not hybrid in the way of different species just more of improved . Hybrid is also used when named varaties are crossed . Perhaps that is what they mean .
neptune25 thanked jerry63
lpittman8
9 years ago
What jerry said... those you listed are not hybrids, but just grafted SELECTIONS of pecan... some were chance seedlings that someone stumbled across, others were the result of planned matings, and like any other fruit/nut tree coming out of a planned breeding program, had siblings that didn't 'make the cut', with regard to nut size/quality, disease resistance, productivity, etc.

Sure...you can grow unselected seedling pecans... but you'll be waiting 20+ years for them to grow through their juvenile period and begin bearing - and then it'll be a genetic crapshoot as to nut size/quality, disease resistance, etc. With grafted trees, all those features are a known entity... and they'll begin bearing in half the time you'd have to wait for a seedling to come into production.

'Heirloom'... well, some of the older pecan varieties have been propagated for 100 years or more, so I guess they might qualify for that label, but most (not all) have been surpassed and supplanted by newer varieties that are more productive or have better disease/pest resistance.
neptune25 thanked lpittman8
neptune25
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
lpittman8 wrote:

Heirloom'... well, some of the older pecan varieties have been
propagated for 100 years or more, so I guess they might qualify for that
label, but most (not all) have been surpassed and supplanted by newer
varieties that are more productive or have better disease/pest
resistance.

Thanks for the info. As long as the trees are not hybrids in the strict sense, which seems to be the case, then I'm OK with getting them.
neptune25
Original Author
9 years ago
I'm looking at a couple different Kanza pecan trees on the Web site of a
company in FL. Although both are in 5-gallon containers, one is 3 – 4
ft., and the other is 4 – 6 ft. I'm kind of leery about buying trees
that are too tall. Would the 3 – 4-ft. tree likely be a wise purchase?