Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 39 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today · 1 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chilean Matorral

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

480"

Habit

Large deciduous lowland shade tree with a broad rounded crown

Care tips

•

Give it serious room — at 75-100 feet tall and 40-70 feet wide, pecan is a large-property shade tree, not a small-yard tree.

•

Plant at least two different varieties for reliable nut set; a lone tree often pollinates poorly because male and female flowers mature at different times.

•

Site it in deep, rich, moist, well-drained bottomland-type soil and keep water consistent; expect 8-10 years from seed before nuts.

Lifecycle

Planting

Best grown in humusy, rich, moist, well-drained soils in full sun (Missouri Botanical Garden). If grown for nut production, plant at least two different varieties for best cross-pollination. May be grown from seed, but a young tree normally takes 8-10 years to bear a nut crop.

Transplanting

Difficult to transplant because of its deep taproot — set out young container or bare-root trees while dormant and disturb the taproot as little as possible.

Early growth

Keep moisture consistent while the deep taproot establishes. Nut production can be sparse in the northern part of its range, particularly when spring is late and summer is cool (Missouri Botanical Garden).

Maturity

Mature trees reach 75-100 feet (infrequently to ~150) with a large rounded spreading crown. Non-showy monoecious greenish-yellow flowers appear April-May; female flowers give way to sweet edible nuts in a thin husk that splits into four sections when ripe in fall.

Propagation

Grown from seed (slow to bear) or, for named nut cultivars, grafted/budded onto seedling rootstock to fix variety and shorten time to bearing.

Pollination

Wind-pollinated

Monoecious and wind-pollinated: each tree carries both male catkins and short female spikes, but they mature at different times (dichogamy), so pollen often is not available when a tree's own female flowers are receptive. Missouri Botanical Garden advises planting at least two different varieties for best cross-pollination when growing for nuts. The greenish-yellow flowers are insignificant and do not feed bees or butterflies with nectar.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Luna moth (Actias luna)

Larval host

Moth

Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Seed forage

Mammal

Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Seed forage

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents the fruit as food for birds and mammals, and the tree as a foraging substrate for insectivorous birds. The fall-ripening nuts are a high-value mast crop for woodpeckers, jays, and other seed-eating birds (as well as squirrels).

For people

Edible

Pecan is one of the most valuable cultivated plants originating in North America. The sweet nuts ripen in fall inside a thin husk that splits into four sections; they are eaten raw or in baking and are pressed for oil. Seedling trees typically take 8-10 years to begin bearing.

Native range

Native across 20 US states.

AHS heat range

4-12

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 15 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Chihuahuan desert

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests

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Edwards Plateau savanna

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Flint Hills tallgrass prairie

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Mississippi lowland forests

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Northeastern Coastal Forests

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Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Carya illinoinensis for USDA zones 5-9 in full sun with medium water, giving a native range of Iowa and Indiana south to Texas and Mexico and a mature size of 75-100 feet tall by 40-70 feet wide.

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents it as a native-to-the-lower-48 tree of wooded bottomlands and stream banks, distributed AL to TX and north to OH, southeast IN, IL, southeast IA and southeast KS.

•

Missouri Botanical Garden notes nut production can be sparse in the northern part of the range when spring is late and summer is cool, and that the tree tolerates the juglone of black walnut.

In the designer

Growth over time

900-1200" tall · 480-840" spread

Mature 75-100 ft shade tree with a broad rounded crown and full nut production.

Design roles: Focal point · Structure · Edible

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Pecan

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations