Can you plant store-bought pistachios?
Written by
Tina Carter
Reviewed by
Prof. Charles Hartman, Ph.D.*Planting commercially purchased pistachios* may seem economically reasonable, but it will only lead to frustration. In 2020, I attempted the germination of 200 grocery ones, and I eventually obtained 3 shoots, and they were all male. The commercial process often includes roasting the kernels at 180 degrees F, which leads to the death of the embryo. Even if they are viable seeds, it takes 10 or more years to bear fruit, with 50% of seeds being males which have no fruit production.
Germination Challenges
- Cold stratification: 6 weeks at 34-40°F required
- pH testing: Soak seeds in 7.0-7.5 pH water
- Viability check: Float test rejects 80% store-bought nuts
Nursery Sapling Advantages
- Guaranteed females: 95%+ female grafted varieties
- Disease resistance: UCB1 rootstock blocks verticillium wilt
- Faster yields: Fruit in 5-7 years vs. 10+
An experiment conducted by a gardener in Phoenix supports the position. She decided to plant 50 raw pistachios that she bought from a specialty shop. Four pistachios germinated, three of which were male. The only female produced 12 nuts after 11 years of cultivation. A neighboring gardener's Kerman tree, obtained from the nursery, produced 18 pounds of nuts after year seven.
The risks of disease are magnified when you use seeds that are bought from retail stores. I've dealt with orchards that had nematodes brought in by those unexamined seedlings. One orchard required $15,000 worth of soil fumigation to remediate the problem. Certified nursery stock is, importantly, subjected to pathogen testing, which home gardeners cannot accomplish by purchasing nuts at the grocery store.
The economic logic favors purchasing professional saplings. Paying $2,000 or more in water and land costs for 10 years, with the hopes of truly finding maybe female trees, is not sustainable. A commercial grafted sapling is about $40 plus shipping, and we can confidently expect production and other benefits in year five. In pistachio farming, time equals money. Smart starters are stabilizing risk and betting on proven genetics.
Read the full article: How to Grow Pistachios: 9 Essential Steps for Success
