Pecan trees grow best across the warm southern United States. They fill a wide belt that runs from Georgia through Texas to New Mexico. That belt formed for a reason. The best climate for pecans brings hot summers, mild winters, and a long frost-free season. This band is where pecans grow with the least trouble. Trees here soak up the heat and the long days they need to fill and ripen a full crop of nuts. Push a pecan too far north or into a cool, damp spot, and it will sulk and stay bare.
The United States grows about 80% of the world's pecans, more than any other country. The pecan is native here too. It grew wild along southern river valleys long before anyone farmed it. Four states lead the crop today: New Mexico, Georgia, Arizona, and Texas. Each one gives pecans the warm days and long, dry fall that ripen a good nut. You can grow a pecan outside this belt, but your tree will crop far less.
Where pecans grow splits into two broad zones. In the eastern belt, from Georgia to east Texas, warm rain feeds the trees. It also breeds scab, so growers there plant disease-tough varieties. Out west, in New Mexico and Arizona, the dry air keeps disease low and the nuts clean. The catch is water, since those desert orchards live on irrigation. Both zones can grow a fine crop, but each one asks something different of you.
Match your zone before you buy. The pecan tree growing zones that suit them best run from USDA zone 6 through zone 9. These zones give the mild winters and long, hot summers that a nut crop needs. Go colder than zone 6 and a hard freeze can kill young wood and wipe out a year of nuts. Go warmer and wetter, and damp air brings scab, a disease that ruins the shells. Your local zone tells you fast if a pecan even has a chance in your yard.
Of every factor on that list, soil matters most. Poor soil causes more orchard failures than any other factor. A pecan sends down a deep taproot and cannot stand wet feet. It wants at least 32 inches (81 centimeters) of loose, well-drained ground to root into. Heavy clay or a high water table will drown those roots and stunt your tree. Test your drainage before you plant by digging a hole and filling it with water. Sandy loam over deep subsoil, the kind found in old river bottoms, gives a pecan its best start.
The long, warm season does the real work of filling a nut. A pecan needs a stretch of hot days, often 180 or more frost-free days, to size and ripen its crop. That steady heat is the best climate for pecans, and it explains why the South owns the crop. Cut the season short with an early fall freeze and the nuts stay small and half-empty. Heat alone is not enough, though. Your tree also drinks deep in summer, so plan on steady water where rain runs thin, as it does across the dry western belt.
Before you plant, ask your county extension office which pecans suit your area. A tree bred for humid Georgia may fail in the dry heat of New Mexico. Match the variety to your region and you skip most of the pain. Plant two different types close by, since pecans need a partner to set a full crop. Above all, put deep, well-drained soil first. Get the ground right and match your zone, and your pecan tree can feed your family for decades.
Read the full article: Pecan Tree: Size, Care, and Growing Guide
