According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary, Phenology is “a branch of Science dealing with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena such as bird migration or plant flowering. I would add fruit and nut ripening dates to this study since they also are variable from year to year.
You don’t have to farm or garden for many years to notice that bloom times, planting dates and harvest dates can vary by weeks from year to year. There are so many things that influence the timing of nature and we must be in tune with these variables to be successful.
It is important for us to observe and take note each year of bloom dates and ripening dates. For Pecans especially, the farther north you are the more important this is. Most observations and ripening information has been made in the deep south.
A Pecan that ripens in mid October in South Georgia may have bloomed in late March. That same variety may bloom in late April in Indiana. Will it still ripen in mid October in Indiana? We do know from observation that many “Southern varieties” do ripen just fine quite far north. But, without documented successes, it is difficult to make informed decisions about what will work and what will not.
We as growers, need each other to document pollen shed and flower receptivity in spring along with shuck split dates in the fall. We know that trees are adaptable to some degree to locations farther north and south of their origins but, what are their limits?
Since a cool spring can set bloom back a week or more and a hot spring can advance the bloom a week or more and a cool summer can delay shuck split while a hot summer can advance it, weather observations should at least be a sidenote to phenologic observations.
Growers in northern areas ( anywhere north of Birmingham Alabama ) do not have any agricultural researcher even thinking about pecans much less documenting anything. It is up to us as growers, both amateuer and professional alike to watch our trees and write down bloom times and shuck split dates so we can all have the information we need to plant with confidence that our trees will produce in our locations.
***Here is a hint, a tidbit I have gleaned from talking with growers, in drought conditions, Pecan shucks will not split properly. If it is time and they are not cooperating, water them thoroughly and they will begin to open properly.
