Pecan Trees

Have you ever seen a pecan tree overflowing with fruit? We used to have one so bountiful you could see the fruit from the road. I’ve noticed each tree seems to differ from each other and from itself year to year. In the pastures, we have Natives. They grow easily and fast. The seeds tend to be much smaller than what you see commercially. The ones in the bakeries, specialty shops and grocery stores are more than likely (known as) Improved.

Late 2020, we noticed what appeared to be a colony of small shrubs growing along a fertile area that feeds into a stream. In the Spring of 2021, we realized most of these shrubs were in fact young pecan trees. We call this area Pecan Grove II. These little guys have huge leaves relative to their young thin stem. There’s usually one leaf at the end of a total of 13 leaflets. I’ve become pretty good telling the differences between pecans and persimmons as persimmons’ leaves tend to be shiny with dark splotches on their leaves. During the height of summer these young pecans were full with leaves. It’s as if we purposefully planted these trees. The cows like them at this age – they seem to be the perfect back scratching height.

As the Fall comes to an end, the leaves start to fall to the ground and the young pecans looks like skinny stems. Most of the young ones we identified late 2020, made it through the February 2021 freeze, known as Uri. They seem to be resilient trees and have been the Texas State tree since 1919.

One of the oldest documented pecan trees in Texas is called La Bahai. It’s located in the Washington on the Brazos State Park in Washington County. This tree is over 200 years old. I’ve learned that there’s been DNA testing on this tree; it’s been traced back to Mexico! If you’ve not visited this State Park, check it out.

Cocklebur

Western Horsenettle