Editing Carya illinoinensis (section)

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

Pecan is monoecious and wind-pollinated: one tree produces separate male and female flowers, but the timing of pollen shed and female receptivity varies among cultivars.<sup id="cite_ref-4">[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup> Planting two or more compatible cultivars improves the opportunity for cross-pollination, and cultivar timing should be considered rather than treating any two named trees as automatically interchangeable.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

The University of Georgia Pecan Breeding program maintains pollen-shed, pistil-receptivity, and pollination-compatibility charts updated in 2021. These records are useful for planning cultivar combinations, but a chart is not a yield trial or a universal guarantee of orchard performance.<sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup>

Flowering occurs in spring and the oval nuts mature in early fall.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Harvest timing should follow the maturity of the nuts on the individual tree and cultivar; the broad early-fall timing is a guide, not a promise of one date for every climate or selection.