Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Tuesday - May 18, 2010
From: Granbury, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Transplants
Title: Transplanting and grafting pecan in Granbury TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I found several native pecans on my property this spring. Apparently they grew from nuts buried by squirrels. I put small protective fences around them and plan to dig and move them (bare root) next January/February to better locations when they are dormant. After a couple of years I want to graft them with graft wood from a nearby nursery. They are currently 6-15" tall. Is this a reasonable plan? (Especially the digging/moving part.) Thanks.ANSWER:
Squirrels have always been busy gardeners, planting oaks and pecans where they were not wanted, and then forgetting completely what they did with them, as well as not knowing they might have to wait 50 years to harvest a crop from "their" tree. We have had many experiences of pulling out an unrecognized weed, and finding its roots emerging from a pecan. Carya illinoinensis (pecan) is native to Texas and is shown on this USDA Plant Profile as growing near Hood County.
According to the page in our Native Plant Database on this plant: "Susceptible to galls, twig girdlers, aphids, borers, weevils, pecan scab, tent caterpillars, and webworms. Slow-growing. Difficult to transplant because of a large taproot." Here is a website from eHow How to Transplant Pecan Trees that should help with that first step.
Assuming you are able to transplant your baby pecan trees without damaging that taproot, we really don't know much about the grafting process. If a plant has been grafted onto another plant, or hybridized, or crossed with a different species, it no longer is considered a native plant in our context. So, we will have to go to our standby research technique, Googling the Internet, on "grafting pecan trees." Here are a few of the websites we found, one or more of which should answer your questions:
Helium How to Graft Pecan Trees
Pecanworld.com Grafting Tips
Aggie Horticulture Texas Inlay Bark Graft
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Bark Grafting Pecans
From our Native Plant Image Gallery:
More Transplants Questions
Penstemon digitalis not blooming in Hebron, NE.
May 22, 2010 - My Beardtongue plants are too close together. Can I transplant my Penstemon digitalis now, even though the plant is approx. 20" tall? It is not blooming.
view the full question and answer
Timing for transplanting a yaupon in Louisiana
January 01, 2009 - I found a female yaupon growing wild at the back of my property and would like to move it to the front. When should I do this?
view the full question and answer
Shriveling and dying of non-native impatiens
July 14, 2008 - Several years now many of my impatiens after a month or so seem to shrivel up and eventually die. They are planted in a row and not all are affected. I am not noticing any slug evidence which I would...
view the full question and answer
Replacing mature Arizona Ash trees in Austin
August 26, 2011 - Mr. Smarty Plants,
I have 2 very large, very old Arizona Ash trees in my yard. I want to remove them and replace them with something like Cedar Elm or Chinquapin Oak. The problem is that they are t...
view the full question and answer
Blackening of top growth of yaupon in Sunrise Beach TX
June 09, 2010 - My question regards a Will Flemming yaupon which I am thinking may be within your scope of expertise. These were recently planted under windy conditions, then hit with a neighbors antiquated jet type ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |