Pistachio
Pistacia vera
MediumSecondary
Production
A heat- and drought-loving nut tree for the hottest, driest spot you've got - it needs baking summers to fill its nuts. Dioecious and slow to bear, so plant males and females and be patient.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- Medium
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Sandy, Loam, Rocky
- Soil pH range
- 7 – 8.5
- Min. temperature
- -15°C
- Min. rainfall
- 300 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- High
- Frost tolerance
- Medium
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Irrigation needed
- Low
How to manage it
Extremely drought- and heat-loving nut tree, usually grafted onto Pistacia terebinthus or P. atlantica rootstock. Give it the hottest, driest, best-drained spot available.
Watch out for
Dioecious - needs both male and female trees (roughly 1 male per 8-10 females) to set nuts. Requires long hot summers plus winter chill, is slow to bear (5-7 years), and needs sharp drainage - rots in wet or heavy soil.
Design your line to see how your land fits Pistachio.
Start designing your line →Related species