Thinking of planting pecan trees on your property? Well, if you order trees now, you might be able to plant in a year or two.
The best time to plant pecan trees is in the “dead of winter,” according to Ben Byrd, co-owner of Lakeview Pecans in Bailey, North Carolina. He means February. If you’re thinking about getting trees now to plant next month, think again.
Due to damage caused by Hurricane Michael, pecan tree sellers like Lakeview Pecans are already sold out for 2019. Next year’s young pecan trees are selling out, too. If you order now, you may be able to reserve trees to plant in Fall 2020. Or maybe Fall 2021.
Hurricane Michael wreaked havoc on North Carolina and Georgia pecan orchards. In Georgia alone, close to 800,000 pecan trees were uprooted, broken, or otherwise lost in the hurricane and the floodwaters that followed. These orchard owners are working hard to rebuild their orchards and replace the hundreds of thousands of lost trees. That’s why there may be a shortage of young pecan trees.
The pecan harvest was impacted too. Harvesting couldn’t be completed where Michael brought the pecan trees down on top of the pecans. What limbs and trees didn’t obscure, flooding ruined. Farmers lost pecan sales for the season. Bakers and pecan eaters, know that pecans may be scarce and prices may rise, because replacement pecan trees being planted in Georgia and North Carolina this year will need to grow for years before they produce.
Lakeview Pecans, luckily, came through the storm with little damage. Byrd and his wife own the orchard that her father started as a hobby 30 years ago. Lakeview was able to harvest in Fall 2018 to sell pecans over the holidays, and they’re planting new trees to expand for the future.
Information on Lakeview Pecans, the tree varieties they grow, and their orchard, may be found at lakeviewpecans.com.
Lakeview Pecans is a member of the North Carolina Pecan Growers Association and the Southern Pecan Growers Association. Visit the association websites for more information.
If you still want to plant pecan trees on your property, it might be a good idea to get your pre-order in today, for your future.
Oh, and order at least two; you’ll need two trees minimum to get pecans.
To find out more about pecan losses from the hurricane, see this Georgia extension article.
