How almonds are grown
An almond is the seed of a stone fruit, and most trees need pollen from a different variety.
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The short version
Almonds are the seeds inside a leathery-hulled fruit related to the peach. Orchards grow two or more varieties together, because common almond trees cannot pollinate themselves, and insects carry the pollen between them. California supplies about 80 percent of the world's almonds.
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Plant mixed varieties
The most widely planted almonds are self-incompatible, so orchards alternate rows of two or more varieties. The trees need a Mediterranean-style climate with dry summers.
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Bring in the bees
White-pink blossoms open before the leaves in early spring. Growers must make sure enough insects visit, because the pollen has to move from tree to tree.
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Collect the ripe nuts
At harvest the fruit has become a dry drupe with a leathery grey-green hull around a hard shell. Nuts are separated from hulls and shells.
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Hull, shell and sort
Machines crack the shell to free the seed, and some are blanched in hot water to loosen the brown skin. Cleaned almonds keep for a long time in storage.
Worth repeating
- The almond is not a true nut but the seed of a drupe, like a peach pit.
- Almond buds need 200 to 700 hours below 7.2 °C before they will break dormancy.
- Bitter almonds release cyanide when crushed with water, so they are not eaten raw.
Where it comes from
- Californiaabout 80% of world supply
Share of the world almond supply, per Wikipedia.
Where it goes next
Almonds feeds 2 lines directly.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How almonds are grown." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/almonds