Today, I checked pecan flowering to see how things were progressing. My first stop was a Gardner tree. As you can see in the photo at right this protandrous cultivar has shed all its pollen, the catkins have turned brown but have yet to fall from the tree. Hardly visible in the photo is a cluster of female flowers at the end of the new shoot.
The photo at left is a close-up of a nearly receptive cluster of Gardner pistillate blooms. The bright red stigmatal surface of Gardner flowers really make these blooms easy to spot.
Next, I moved on to a protogynous cultivar--Kanza (photo at right). Kanza catkins have turned yellow in color and will begin opening soon to release pollen. If you look carefully you can spot a cluster of female flowers at the end of the new growth.
Kanza pistillate blooms appear to be already pollinated (photo at left). The stigmatal surfaces of Kanza flowers are a light greenish-yellow. However, note that the tips of the stigmas have turned black which is a good indicator that these flowers have been pollinated.
From what I have seen so far during this year's pollination season, the potential for a good nut crop look very good.
