Pistachio cultivation is a time-consuming endeavor that calls for persistence. Pistachio trees don't start producing any nuts until they're eight years old, and it takes another ten years before they're ready for harvest. Pistachios can be grown at home if you're willing to put in the time and effort.
Growing Conditions
Climate is the most important element while planting pistachios. Pistachios need hot, dry summers and cold winters, but not frozen ground. During dormancy, they need 1,000 hours below 45°F. Dryness is needed. High humidity hurts pistachio trees.
Since the wind transfers pollen from the male tree to the female tree's blossom, male trees are planted such the wind blows pollen over the female trees. 1 male every 10 to 15 females
How to Grow and Plant
A dioecious form of the Pistacia vera fruit tree is known as the Pistacia vera. This is a complicated way of saying that they are not capable of self-pollination. Pistachio nuts can only be produced from trees that have both male and female flowers, therefore if you want to cultivate your own crop, you'll need two separate trees.
Pollination can occur naturally between trees if they are planted within fifty feet of one another. Due to the particular climatic requirements of pistachios, not everyone can cultivate these nuts successfully. Your location's average temperature, humidity, and precipitation are the most important aspects to take into account.
Pistachio Care & Maintenance
Light, Temperature, and Humidity
The pistachio tree does best in temperatures about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it thrives in very warm climates, it has to spend at least part of the year in 45 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
Soil
Although the pistachio tree may be grown in practically any type of soil, it is most successful in soils that are light, sandy, loamy, and well-drained.
Harvesting Tips
It takes a tree anything from five to seven years, on average in October, before it begins to produce nuts. When pistachios are ready to be harvested, the hulls will change to a lovely pink-yellow hue, and the epicarp, which is the nut's outer husk, will split from the inner husk.
These are both signs that the nuts are mature enough to be harvested. When this occurs, all you need to do to collect your treasure is give the branches a light tap to dislodge the nuts.
Pests & Diseases
Alternaria Late Blight (Alternaria alternata) is a disease that causes black spores to form on lesions on the leaf of your pistachio tree if it is kept too moist (via irrigation, spacing, or temperature). Additionally, male trees, in particular, are more susceptible to Botrytis in wet springs.