I have been unable to locate one of these in stock yet. I wanted to give everyone full disclosure growing these is on my mind. Read the description and you will see why I’m chasing a few of my own. They can be male or female like mulberry or persimmon. That is not a big deal as long as you get at least one female. I might buy 5 to increase my odds of getting a female once i source some. I’m confident @Fusion_power can teach me how to graft the male nuts over to females once i locate some to purchase and grow them out.
Uzbek Pistachio Seedling
“Uzbek Pistachio Seedling
Surprisingly hardy, Pistachio trees grow wild throughout Central Asia. Our Uzbek Pistachio came from orchards where they are grown as large shrubs. An attractive shrub or broad spreading small to medium size tree, Pistachio features grayish-green foliage and prolific reddish husks inside which you will find the delicious nuts. Pistachio trees require a male and female to bear nuts. It will be several years before you will know the sex of these seedlings.
Latin Name: Pistacia vera
Site and Soil: Pistachio trees like full sun and well-drained soil.
Rootstock Description:
Pollination Requirements: A male and female tree are required for nut production.
Hardiness: Our Uzbekistan seedlings should be hardy to minus 10F.
Bearing Age: 5-8 years after planting
Size at Maturity: 10-12 feet in height
Bloom Time: April-May
Ripening Time: late fall
Yield: 10-20 lbs.
Pests & Diseases: Our Pistachio trees have not been bothered by pests or diseases.
USDA Zone: 7
Sunset Western Zone: 7-12, 14, 15, 18-21
Sunset Northeast Zone: 31-32”
For years I’ve been trying to get my hands on them or some of the other cold hardy varieties. Next to impossible to find. OGW and several other nurseries have them listed, but never seem to have them in stock. As a matter of fact you can barely find pistachio for sale at all.
I’ve read a paper on pistachios before that said most all pistachios can take -10°f(another one talking about foreign pistachio cultivation said they take -30°C(-25°F)), but the problem comes in the form of root disease if the winter isn’t dry. I have wondered about just mass plant a bunch of pistachio seed and test for the winter.
You can graft the regular pistachios onto chinese pistache for a more disease resistant rootstock.
There are some growing on the campus of some Utah college, Utah State I think? They have been there a long time and seen some pretty cold temps, a great starting point for breeding I think
As stated above the humidity would be a problem, killing them outright in the winter but also ruining the nuts. Supposedly the nuts are very sensitive to rain close to harvest
Quick internet search looks like you can buy raw pistachios for eating. I never thought to grow them out! I am worried the humidity will cause them to mold, but that’s just from reading about how they are grown etc with my kids years ago. Please update if you grow some out!
A lot of edible things are irradiated to prevent sprouting. So there’s no guarantee on store bought stuff. As for the humidity. It’s not exactly been the usual rain forest conditions the last couple years. I’ve wasted space on plenty of other dumb ideas, so I’m willing to give these a try. Just need to find them, but after years of searching for them it’s not looking good.
I’ve tried buying “raw” store bought pistachios twice with hopes I could germinate them, but both times resulted in 100% lack of germination. They’re probably treated in some way.
Perhaps organic raw. This is what AI says how they are treated. Not sure how that affects sprouting.
Organic raw pistachio nuts are not treated with anything to prevent sprouting; they are typically soaked and dehydrated to enhance flavor and preserve nutrients. This process allows them to maintain their natural state without any additives.
That right there may be why they failed to germinate for me. If germination had already been briefly activated by a soak they would have subsequently died when dried again.
Yeah, but some varieties are better than others (though I have no clue where to get seed of specific varieties). But, for me, if I plant them on the tip of an unsheltered hill the humidity would be lower there. Also western Nebraska, with my siblings out there, have the somewhat arid environment.
I wonder if regular pistachios can hybridize with the chinese pistache to make them more disease resistant?
A lot of the more modern pistachio cultivars from California were selectively bred for lower winter chill requirements.