@Matt_in_Maryland the very best pecan here is ‘Hark’. It’s extremely large for a “far-northern” pecan. It flowers mid-May (15th) and shuck splits mid-Oct (15th). An older gentleman named Bill Totten lined out 1000’s of seed-grown, seedlings to sell to the IL DNR as a contract grow he had with them in 1979 and it just so happened he plucked this seedling from those 1000’s and planted it in 1981-82. The nut is larger than ‘Kanza’ and the kernel weight is also more than that of ‘Kanza’. It’s also an annual bearer vs. many pecan varieties that have a weak crop one year and a larger crop the next. It really has it all. He among others in the world of pecans think it is likely a seedling of ‘Major’.
Our second best pecan is ‘Mullahy’. Fortunately ‘Mullahy’ and ‘Hark’ pollinate each other. There is no comparison however to ‘Hark’. While ‘Mullahy’ is a very decent pecan, it simply is not as large as ‘Hark’. Also, one more thing, ‘Hark’ kernels are blonde. It’s a gorgeous kernel.
In addition, any pecans labeled as far-northern or ultra-northern may also be grown here.
A friend Gary Fernald has quite a few Persian walnuts that do excellent here. Some are walnut blight prone so some nuts fall prematurely or are stick tight (nut cannot be removed from the hull) but overall, very good crops are grown here. Add to all this, heartnuts, hicans, persimmons, pawpaws, hickories, there are so many nut trees/fruiting trees that are excellent in this climate.
Dax