[Hick Industries]

I spent the day moving marker stakes around in my new nut orchard, trying to figgure out how far apart to plant my new trees.
I gave been researching this, and the advise is all over the place. From 25ft spacing, 30-35ft, even one souce suggests planting them 41ft apart.
Does anyone have real world experience?

This is not going to be a large opperation, btw. Just a dozen trees spread over one acre.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

I grew up in the deep south where many places built 50-70 years ago had evenly spaced pecan trees for their back yard.

41+

I did mine 60-70, but I have plenty of room

 

[Offrink]

Look into staggering them too. Would be denser rows. If you want good wind pollination you may want an area between them for the wind to help. I’m going to have to get on figuring out where to plant my 25 American chestnut, 5 Cherry and half a dozen “other” trees. I’m running out of room for my trees.

 

[hardcalibres]

This is one of my Chesnuts that is about 22 years old.

The trailer in the foreground is about 6 feet wide so that tree is a little over 40 feet wide at the ground.

I would put them about 50 feet apart. If you have the space you could go a little wider....

Pecans that I have, occupy a smaller footprint (and people often prune them to size). I would put them about 30-35 feet apart.

Oaks you need even more space than Chestnuts.

 

[Hick Industries]

I have room to plant pecans in staggered rows 42ft apart, this means the trees are 50 ft apart, and can plant some extra polinators.

Same with the Dunstan Chestnuts. Persimmons rows at 30 ft apart, with sand pears filling in irregular spaces.

 

[barnetmill]

Not all chestnuts are equal in how big they will get and I suspect the same is true of pecans. An american chestnut can exceed 100 ft in height and a chinese chestnut will be smaller.
Likely the larger spacing is correct. I have some of them in a clump of four (3 dunstans and an unknown chinese type) and the branches are intertwined. Probably not the best arrangement. Now that I have removed the overhanging shading oaks I should start seeing some chestnut production.

 

[RobertSWMissouri]

I have tried several spacing over the last 30 some years.

In a block, 20' x 20' TO START, and then as the canopies start to touch, start cutting out every other row and every other tree in the remaining row... BUT not all at one time, each tree is an individual decision, not touching canopy, don't cut. LOT more nuts early on, fire wood later....

What I like best is 'fence row' - planting fence lines, every 40' a pecan (or chestnut or eating variety of pecan) and in between a thornless honey locust for pod's AND Nitrogen to help support the pecans. About year 20 to 25 start to thin out the locusts.

 

[Sharkbait]

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