Northern Pecan, Carya Illinoïnensis

The Northern pecan tree may reach 70 to 100 feet in height and 40 to 80 feet in width. It has a good growing rate the first years. As a member of the Hickory family, the wood is very good for building fine furnitures or for general construction, however it is not as hard as hickory. The northern pecan and the southern pecan are very different from each other in hardiness, nut size, and length of season required to ripen. The northern pecans are suited for the growing conditions in Ontario and maybe in extreme southern Quebec since they are from the northern tip of the growing range of the pecan. A distribution map of the native range covers much of the Mississippi Valley, with a finger of distribution extending northward along the Mississippi River into Iowa. It is in this area where the hardiest short season pecans are found.These pecans are small, about the size of a native shagbark hickory or large hazelnut, but they have the fine flavor for which pecan is known. Selections that were the earliest to ripen, have been brought back in the 1980's from Green Island, Iowa by John Gordon, a former nut tree explorer.Hardy to zone 4b, they resist very well to cold temperatures such -30°C and below in winter.