Carya
These deciduous trees are mainly natives of eastern North America and Mexico, one kind is from China. Many of these trees have edible nuts. Caryas are commonly known as Hickory or Pecan trees. The leaves of Hickories are pinnately compound; from 5 to 11 leaflets are alternately arranged along the rachis. The leaves are fragrant when crushed. The flowers are borne in the spring along with the foliage. The male flowers are produced in pendant, 3-branched catkins near the base of the current season's growth. The female flowers are unnoticeable and grow in spiked clusters towards the end of the growth. Both male and female flowers are produced on the same tree. The bony-shelled nuts are encased in a 4-valved husk. In some kinds, the husk is thin and splits partially open and in others, the husk is thick and splits at the base at maturity. The nuts ripen in October and fall from the trees. Several varieties of Carya have edible nuts, though the Pecan nut is by far the most important kind. Improved varieties are easy to eat out of the shell and large amounts are used in cooking. The Pecan, C. Pecan, may grow up to 150 feet high in the South.
It makes a wonderful shade tree in the Northeast even though the nuts don't mature there. The leaves are large, 12 to 18 inches long, and they turn golden yellow in the autumn. In fruit-producing regions, the trees produce their first crop of nuts four to seven years after planting. Eventually, they will bear large crops of 1�- to 2�-inch nuts. The pecans will fall to the ground when they're ripe in the fall. The wood of the Shagbark, Pignut and Mockernut Hickory is tough and resilient and is especially valued in the manufacture of certain tools and implements, ax handles and baseball bats. Pot CultivationThese trees should be planted in rich, moist, but well-drained loamy soil. Pecan trees need full sun and moist soil that is deep enough to accommodate their long roots. The taproots of the Pecan grow vertical and are long, which makes it hard to establish them, especially if they're bought balled and burlapped. It is better to purchase them bare-rooted and plant them in the winter or early spring. If they are to be grown for the production of nuts, it is important to fertilize them early each spring. When they need to be pruned, which is rare, it should be done in the winter.
PropagationNuts shouldn't be allowed to dry before planting. If they aren't going to be sown right away, bury them in sand outside in a well-drained place and protect them from rodents with a wire netting. Transplant the seedlings while they are still small, because the taproot makes them difficult to move when they are larger. Named varieties are propagated by grafting and budding.
Varieties
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