Clik here to view.
Branch growth pattern: Gauging the potential for native pecan productivity
Recently, I took a short drive down the gravel roads in the Neosho River bottom to take a look at native pecan trees in mid-winter. I passed native groves that have had a history of intensive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A historical perspective
One of my hobbies has been collecting antique books--not just any books but books about nut growing. Within the pages of "The Nut Culturist", published in 1896, is a line drawing of a shellbark...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dormant pecan tree pruning
I took advantage of some mild winter weather to prune some of my young pecan trees. This year I continued the process of trimming limbs to eventually create a tree with at least 8 feet of clear...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Removing a narrow-angled branch
In pruning my young pecan trees, I came across a tree with a large branch attached to the trunk at a narrow angle (photo at right). Look carefully and you can see that a bark inclusion has already...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pecan yields from a native grove
Many readers of this blog are interested in planting new orchards of grafted pecan trees. However, Southeast Kansas is blessed to have thousands of acres of mature native pecan trees growing in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pruning top-worked pecan trees
Back in 2014, I decided to top-work some young trees to new cultivars. In previous posts, I wrote about the grafting process and training those new grafts. Because these trees were fairly large...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kanza yield 2016
As most readers of this blog will know, I am a big fan of the Kanza pecan (photo at right). At the Pecan Experiment Field we have a 3 acre block of Kanza trees that was established when we planted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pecan tree limb pruning and collecting scions
On a mild sunny days in February, its hard for me to stay indoors when there are pecan trees to prune and scionwood to collect. When approaching a young tree, like the one pictured at right, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thinning more Kanza trees
For the past six years, we have been progressively thinning a three acre block of Kanza trees. This week, we removed trees within the Kanza block in areas where adjacent trees were competing for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anatomy of the branch collar
Every time I talk about pruning off low limbs from pecan trees, I end up describing how to make the proper pruning cut. Typically, I've talked about removing a limb by cutting just outside the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spreading fertilizer on the pecan grove
With rain predicted at the end of the week, we decided to spread a little fertilizer on our pecan grove today. We spread 150 lbs. of urea (69 lbs nitrogen) and 100 lbs. potash (60 lbs. potassium) on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Narrow crotch tear-out
The other day, I spotted a young tree in my orchard with a wind-torn branch (photo at right). At first, all I was thinking was, "how did that happen?". But then, as I approached the tree, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pecan trees still waiting for Spring
With temperatures hitting the 80's (>27 C) a few days ago, everyone is talking about Spring arriving early this year. So today, I went out to the pecan grove to see if I could find any signs of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Counting pecan wood rings
Whenever we remove trees during an orchard thinning process, I like to stop for a minute and look at the rings in the wood. Each year pecan trees lay down a new and unique layer of wood tissue....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sapsuckers have arrived
Every spring, yellow-bellied sapsuckers stop to visit our pecan trees on their flight northwards. Long before the buds of pecan trees start to break, these members of the woodpecker family will drill...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cleaning up a bark graft
Whenever I graft a tree, I usually return to the new graft every 3-4 weeks throughout the summer to prune off trunk sprouts and root suckers. I also like to start training the new scion to grow a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pecan bud break influenced by soil type
The buds of my Kanza trees are beginning to show some life. However, I've noticed some differences in the timing of bud break among my trees. The photo at right shows two Kanza twigs collected on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pecan trees breaking bud
From L to R: Hark, Major, Giles, Faith (11 Apr 2017) Over the past week, our pecan trees have started their spring flush of new growth. At this early stage of bud growth, differences among pecan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Choosing where to graft a pecan tree.
Most of my pecan trees have budded out about a week ahead of their average date of spring leaf burst. So this evening I gathered all my grafting supplies, a box full of scions, and headed for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tips for grafting pecans with the 3-flap graft
The weather the past several days has been great for grafting pecan trees. There is nothing better that spending time outdoors carving scions and placing grafts. In a previous post, I've documented...
View Article