How to Plant and Grow a Pistachio Tree

If you want a tree to produce a tasty, crunchy, and shelf-stable snack, you may consider planting a pistachio tree. You can grow pistachio nuts successfully if you live in an area that meets its particular growing conditions—dry, hot summers and cold winters. The trees you will likely find for sale at nurseries are Kerman pistachio trees, a popular variety that produces high-quality pistachios in the fall.

Fast Facts

• Pistachio trees grow up to 30 feet tall, with taproots just as long.
• Pistachios are botanically not nuts, just like cashews. They are drupes—pistachios are the seeds, not the fruit.
• It takes five to seven years until you can harvest pistachios from your own tree, although grafted trees might produce a harvest in three to five years.
  

Where Pistachio Trees Grow

Pistachio trees require unique growing conditions and climate; otherwise, they are challenging to grow. They need a combination of summers with temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above and non-freezing winters. The trees also need an extended chill period to bear fruit and break their dormancy. Pistachio trees are wind-pollinated, so breezy spring and early summer conditions are essential.

In the United States, the majority of pistachio production occurs in central California and certain portions of Arizona and New Mexico. They are alternate-bearing plants, producing a heavy crop one year and a light crop the following year.

Planting a Pistachio Tree

Here are the best growing tips for planting a pistachio tree to yield nuts:

• Get male and female plants: Pistachio trees are diecious, which means they have either male or female flowers. You’ll need one ofeach to produce pistachio nuts, which are the product of female trees.
• Correct male-to-female plant ratio: One male pollinator tree is sufficient for eight to ten female trees. Commercial nurseries will identify male and female trees.
• Best time to plant: Young trees, usually sold as potted nursery specimens, should be planted in early spring when they are dormant.

Where to Plant

Select a location with sandy, well-draining, loamy soil and a good breeze because that’s needed for pollination.Locations with wet soil are not suitable.

When to Plant

No matter whether you plant a potted nursery tree or a bare-root specimen, plant a pistachio tree in the early spring. At that point, the seedling should still be dormant. Planting while in dormancy prevents transplant shock and gives the tree maximum growing time to get established.

How to Plant

Plant trees at least 20 feet apart. When digging the hole, ensure it's at least twice the diameter of the nursery container and at least one inch deeper than the nursery container.

• Carefully remove the tree from the pot and place it in the hole.
• Backfill with the original soil and tamp it down.
• Water immediately and deeply to remove any air pockets.
• Stake the tree for support and mulch around the base to conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds.

Tip

Remember that gusty winds in the spring and summer are crucial for a healthy pistachio harvest. Male trees should be planted so that prevailing winds carry pollen toward the female trees. Typically, a male tree pollinates female trees planted within 50 feet.

Pistachio Tree Care

Light

Plant the pistachio tree in a location with full sun (a minimum of eight hours daily).

Soil

The ideal soil for pistachio trees is light, sandy, loamy, and well-draining. Do not plant the tree in wet, soggy, heavy soil. Because of its long taproot, the tree needs to reach deep into the ground.

Water

Pistachio trees are very drought-tolerant and prefer arid landscapes. However, they still require plenty of water for an abundant harvest. Water the tree deeply but infrequently, allowing the water to saturate the soil. If you have several pistachio trees, consider an irrigation system.

Temperature and Humidity

Optimal temperatures for pistachio trees hover at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, the tree requires at least 900 to 1,000 cumulative hours of temperatures between 32 and 45 F to initiate new leaf and bud production. However, pistachio trees don't tolerate temperatures below freezing or frozen ground.Pistachio trees thrive in heat but do poorly in hot, humid climates.

Fertilizer

Before adding fertilizer, test thesoil to determine if it lacks nutrients. To tailor the fertilization to your tree's nutrient needs, use a nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium fertilizer. Apply the fertilizer from late winter to early spring.

How to Harvest Pistachios

If you are planting a pistachio tree, you are in for a relatively long wait. From the first harvest after five to seven years, it quickly takes another decade before the tree reaches maximum fruiting.

When pistachios are ready for harvesting in October, the hulls will turn a beautiful pink-yellow color, and the epicarp (the outer husk of the nut) will separate from the inner husk. Once this occurs, rap the branches to dislodge the pistachios.

For an easy harvest, try placing a sheet, tarp, or sheet below the tree before dislodging the fruit.

After harvesting, remove the epicarps within 24 hours for the best flavor and freshness.

Potting and Repotting Pistachio Trees

These trees can be kept in containers for three to five years as potted nursery specimens. Growing pistachio trees long-term in pots or as indoor plants is not advisable. They should be planted in the garden to allow the tree to mature. They have a long taproot, which could become stunted with long-term container growth.

Pruning

Pruning your pistachio tree in midsummer helps encourage it to branch and grow thicker. You may want topruneongoing growth two or three times a year to stimulate ongoing growth. When pruning, take care not to remove any flowers. The small, brownish-green flowers on a pistachio tree are not showy and lack petals.

When the tree is young, identify branches that function as the main branches for the growing tree. Choose branches spaced evenly around the trunk and remove any growing directly across each other. Also, trim away all other branches below the lowest main branch—this should be 24 to 32 inches above the soil. All other branches should be pruned to approximately 4 to 6 inches long.

Propagating Pistachio Trees

Pistachio trees are normally propagated through budding scion plant tissue onto rootstock from a disease-resistant species in the fall. This is a complicated, tricky procedure that amateurs rarely do successfully. Pistachio trees are not suitable for propagation by rooting stem cuttings, as the resulting tree will not perform as well as the parent tree.

How to Grow Pistachio Trees From Seed

To grow pistachios, you should start with pistachio trees from a nursery. Growing a pistachio tree from seed is not recommended because it is impossible to guarantee that you will get a nut-producing female tree rather than a male tree. Further, the resulting tree will have the genetic characteristics of the grafted scion plant tissue and will lack the disease resistance of the parent tree's rootstock.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Overly moist conditions (whether caused by irrigation, spacing, or climate) are a breeding ground for a disease called Alternaria Late Blight (Alternaria alternata), in which black spores develop on foliage lesions. Botrytis is also a problem in wet springs, particularly for male trees. Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) is destructive, even causing the tree's death. To prevent this problem, plant a specimen with resistant rootstock.

From: thespruce