Hi @Fusion_power & (@ianrwilliams)
What I am saying is to graft another variety of the same cultivar to the seedling. There’s no reason Ian to have seedling pecans which will be crap.
I just took a quick look at Wes Rice’s book and he lists Starking Hardy Giant as pollen shed 1. And by the way Ian it’s an excellent pecan! It’s also super early so you made a great choice in selecting that. To pair with it for your area you want ‘Mullahy’. I don’t believe you have the heat that we do here but I will have defer to you to tell to me how many cooling degree days that you have. ‘Hark’ here is a go but it won’t be a go for example for my friend Bob in Connecticut zone 6b simply because he doesn’t have enough summer heat. He however can grow Mullahy and Campbell’s NC-4 aka NC-4.
So Mullahy I’m going to say is possible for you. But you’ll need on the East Coast a minimum of 700 cooling degree days to mature Mullahy and Starking Hardy Giant. Any pecan you grow must mature in under 160 days. Better yet, 150-155 days for you.
The reason I came up with 600-700 cooling degree days is because my friend Bob in Connecticut gets 500 cooling degree days but his zone is a full zone past yours. It’s an estimate. You’ll need a ‘bit more heat’ than him to mature Mullahy where you are. So go to this link, post 92 and let me know the data you get. Then I won’t be guessing so much.
And do feel free to graft on your seedling-rootstock before it gets 1.5-2" diameter. It would be just as good for you to do a 3-flap graft on that seedling this coming spring anywhere 10" and above from ground level.
Just keep it caged.
Dax