Anyone have experience growing pigeon peas and know if they readily out cross?
I’m obsessed with successfully growing pigeon peas here in Mallorca.
I planted two types last spring, the ones in my homegarden in Palma survived the winter just fine as it didnt freeze and are about to flower again. They gave just a few pods in january, so a very long season variety.
The same varieties I grew in my garden just 13km outside Palma where it froze just -2 celsius for a few nights and they died to the ground without making any pods.
For this season I’m stocked with lots more variaties, a few from florida and a grex from africa, a northern adapted and one that is supposed to be a 90 day variety.
I’m hoping this will be enough diversity to grow productive varieties, especially if the short season varieties will cross with the others.
I’ve grown them as an annual last year from a mothers adapted variety. I kept the seeds and is mixing them this year with another northern adapted variety. They work well for me as an annual crop. I’m on the east coast of the US zone 5b/6a
Pigeon pea has been an invaluable pioneer plant for getting my food forest going here in florida, so I’ve planted lots and lots of it here. I started with a black, red, and a white variety, and saved seeds and replanted for a couple years, and a couple of the trees this year have peas that are white with a mottled brownish red color on them, so I don’t know if that means the white and red varieties crossed for those ones. They are the most vigorous trees, out of all the pigeon peas. I am happy to share seeds with you, as I have tons of seeds from it.
I grew pigeon pea in Hawaii, and also in Taiwan. Both areas had their own unique varieties. It is a very popular species amongst the indigenous groups. Being that it is considered one of the top permaculture species I am also very interested in giving them a try here in Poland zone 7 climate as an annual.
If anybody has seeds available and is willing to share Id love to get connected!
Images are from a Hawaii Pigeon Pea that a friend is growing. If any of you have plans to go there let me know. I can get you connected with some plant nerds.
I have a diverse grex of pigeon peas flowering here in mallorca at the moment. When they form pods I can send you some. They are mostly black, purple, speckled, brown and orange types. Some northern adapted and others tropical. I grow them mostly in containers in palma where it doesnt freeze but it looks like i have some survivers sprouting back in the field this year too (where it is a little colder).
