Northern Pecans: Pecan trees breaking bud

Between rain showers, I noticed the slightest amount of green tissue emerging from the terminals of pecan tree branches. I decided to take a closer look to see how this Spring's new growth was developing on my trees. After a tour of the grove,

I found that some cultivars still looked dormant while others had broken open their inner bud scales. Posted below are photos of pecan buds that I took today (30 March 2020). Each photo is identified by cultivar and the stage of bud development. This year, bud break seems to have started about a week earlier than average. If night-time temperature stay above 26 degrees F over the next three weeks, we should escape any freeze damage to emerging buds.