I live in East Tennessee near Knoxville, and I've just planted two pecan trees - Kanza and Peruque. I wanted just one pecan tree, but decided to make sure that the variety I have could cross pollinate. I got the Peruque as a pollinator but I'm sure the many Blue Jays and squirrels on my property (where they raid the existing black cherries and hickory nuts) will steal all the soft nuts. I'm hoping to get a taste of Peruque once in a while but I'm counting on the Kanza to produce for me in about 6 years. My soil is pretty heavy in clay, so I'm not sure if they'll do ok or live long enough for me to see the day of the harvest. I've got the potted grafted trees through Stark Bros, and they looked tiny but they were healthy. I've also got 4 other bareroots (3 Asian Pears and 1 Almond) from Star Bros along with the Pecans, and they're all budding well. I'm pretty happy with the purchases given all the varieties I was able to get along with a free shipping promo. This post was edited by bluema on Wed, May 22, 13 at 13:53

Tony - good advice, above, from Scott. I do almost exclusively bark grafts anymore -see Joe Real's tutorial, linked below - it's how I graft everything from persimmons & pears to pecans & oaks; it's really sort of a modified T-bud placement, if you think about it, but instead of a budshield, you're inserting a stick of budwood into a T where the horizontal cut is just a decapitating cut. But, I've done simple splice grafts, 4-flap, whip & tongue on persimmon with reasonable success. All are best done after the rootstock begins leafing out and the bark 'slips'. Aftercare, as Scott described, being diligent in keeping new shoots from the seedling understock rubbed off is THE most important part of grafting persimmons. Multi-grafting persimmon can be done, but it's harder to manage with this genus than just grafting onto a single stem - but if you have the time to religiously keep an eye on it, rub off adventitious shoots and keep the grafts growing in balance, you should be able to pull it off. One caveat - persimmons 'self-prune'. As the tree gets taller, lower limbs decline and are shed off. So...be aware that if any particular variety you graft on has a higher placement and becomes the dominant leader, varieties grafted(or that just end up) lower on the tree may 'disappear' over a period of years.

The Spring meeting of the Kentucky Nut Growers Association(KNGA) will be held Saturday, April 22, 2006, at the Hardin Co. Agricultural Extension offic in Elizabethtown, KY, beginning at 9:30 EDT. The Extension Office is located just off U.S. 62, about two miles west from downtown Elizabethtown - directly behind the Cecelia Auto Sales lot on Peterson Dr. KNGA signs will be posted. Luncheon is potluck - if you bring something that needs to be heated/warmed, there is a well-equipped kitchen available I've not received the official agenda yet, but suspect it will be similar to in years past: Program I. Board of Directors Meeting II. General meeting & report on the association III. Nut display - one of the main attractions, an exhibit of the various nut species and specimens of many of the named varieties. As available, members usually bring in bags/baskets of nuts for the attendees to crack and compare. A wide variety of nutcrackers are usually available for use/trial/comparison. IV. Scionwood swap - members bring in dormant-collected scionwood from their favorite nut, pawpaw, persimmon, and fruit trees to trade with other enthusiasts. Also frequently available are pawpaw seeds and other plant materials. Be sure to bring plastic bags, moisture-proof wrappings, rubber bands, tape, permanent markers, etc. to ensure proper identification of scionwood varieties and to preserve viability of plant materials you'd like to share or take home. V. Door Prizes/Auction - members and nurserymen donate plant materials, nuts, and other items for door prizes, or to go into the plant auction held annually to help raise operating funds for KNGA. Grafted and seedling fruit & nut trees, berry plants, flowers, and ornamental plants are commonly available for purchase during the auction. 50-100 northern pecan seedlings are anticipated to be available as door prizes. VI. Grafting demonstration - members who are accomplished grafters usually conduct demonstrations on proper technique for grafting nut trees. The Spring KNGA meeting is the social event of the year for me - a chance to meet up with old friends, discuss the previous year's production, procure new fruit/nut varieties, and I always learn something new. Hope to see you there. Lucky

UF did an 11 year study of 26 pecan cultivars in North Florida and their top three recommendations are Elliot, Moreland, and Sumner. This is the best link I could find on the subject, with many charts about performance, etc. Unfortunately, it only lists pollination type, and does not have a cultivar pollination compatibility chart. The pollination charts from UGA and LSU have conflicting info, so the lack of a pollination chart for our area is definitely a need it would be great to have filled. For instance, UGA says Elliot would be a perfect pollinator for Moreland, but they are both Type II (protogynous,) so how does that work? Here is a link that might be useful: Pecan Cultivars for North Florida