Help to identify pecans

[sanguinho]

Help to identify pecans

Taking advantage that in this board there are a few americanis, let's see if I can solve a doubt. Some time ago I bought some pecan seedlings, at the same time I put some Pawnee variety nuts to germinate in a pot. The nuts have sprouted, but the leaves don't look like the seedlings.

I consulted a friend who has pecans, and he told me that the leaves of the purchased seedlings looked more like his pecans, so maybe the sprouted ones are hybrids. I know that pecans hybridize with other hickory, but the nuts are from a commercial plantation in Malaga (Spain), so I rule out that hybridization, I can only think that it is a hybrid with European nuts, although I do not know if that is possible.

These are the germinated sprouts



And these are the ones I've bought



You can see that  leaves of purchased ones are smaller and lanceolate.

Is it really pecan, hybrid or did I get the wrong pot?

[kumin]

The first seedling pecan leaves have an appearance that's quite different from later leaves on the same plant. It's interesting that you mention hickories, the first leaves do appear hickory like.

I live in an area with many hickories an few pecans. I was convinced the many seedlings that grew in the surrounding area had to be hicans because of the very low leaflet counts. Within a few years all of them transitioned to normal pecan leaves.
I rather doubt there are native European nuts capable of pollinating pecans. Do pecan nuts fully mature in your climate?

[sanguinho]

Aug 20, 2020 17:27:48 GMT -5 kumin said:

The first seedling pecan leaves have an appearance that's quite different from later leaves on the same plant. It's interesting that you mention hickories, the first leaves do appear hickory like.

I live in an area with many hickories an few pecans. I was convinced the many seedlings that grew in the surrounding area had to be hicans because of the very low leaflet counts. Within a few years all of them transitioned to normal pecan leaves.
I rather doubt there are native European nuts capable of pollinating pecans. Do pecan nuts fully mature in your climate?

Hello Kumin,

Thank you very much for the answer, so I have understood that pecans in their first year have leaves that remind them of other hickories, but as they grow they would change their leaves to those of my purchased seedlings. For me it is surprising, but it is the best explanation, the sprouts are from this year, the seedlings are 2 or 3 years old, although they look like that since I bought them.

If I understood your question correctly, I know that in my city there is someone who has this tree, but I don't know if it produces nuts. The nuts that I have germinated were bought directly from a producer in Spain, 1000 km away but with a similar climate.

Are the nuts from wild trees good? I have only tasted the Pawnee, Wichita and Western varieties, the only interesting one was the Pawnee. I was also recommended the Cheyenne, but I have not tried it.

[kumin]

Sanguinho, my location is northeast of the native range of pecans in North America. However, my tree grows very well and usually ripens the nuts before cold weather. Unfortunately, our native squirrels have discovered them and I no longer have any to harvest. The squirrels bury many in Autumn, of which many germinate in the Spring.
Pecans are wind pollinated, with some trees exposing the anthers first and the rest exposing the female stigmas first. This prevents self-pollination, but requires pollinating trees of the opposite flowering sequence in the neighborhood.