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Post by darrenabbey on Jan 9, 2015 11:08:47 GMT -5
Big, bigger than big. Chestnut was the sequoia of the east. Plus you will need to plant two. if you must, talk a neighbor into growing the second tree. These are Chinese chestnuts, not the American type. They're much smaller. I've got enough room to grow a few as needed. |
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coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
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Post by coppice on Jan 9, 2015 12:55:25 GMT -5
Hope it all grows good for you!  |
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Post by castanea on Jan 9, 2015 21:26:30 GMT -5
For anyone who wants to try growing chestnut trees, I have seed nuts available. They are not for sale; they are free, no shipping charge either. I will post photos of some of them in a little while. I just got a new house and am interested in planting one of these chestnut trees, if still available. It would be a good pairing to the large-sweet-seed burr oak I collected in Texas (not enough seeds to share, unfortunately). I've got a sandy slope in mind for them. How large do you expect the trees to get? How old before first fruiting? They can fruit anywehere from one year on up. It depends on the genetics and the growing conditions. Size depends on genetics and growing conditions also. I have trees that will top out at 30-40 feet in 50 years and others that will probably pass 60 feet in 50 years. |
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Post by castanea on Jan 9, 2015 21:28:50 GMT -5
I would like to give them a try if you have them to spare. I'll message my address. Do they have a large tap root? If so I'll plant them direct if not I'll start them in pots. I assume like everything else I'll need to guard them from the deer. Thank you. Deer love chestnuts. Most chestnuts will develop a large tap root but they can grow quite well without one too. Some nurseries have taken to planting chestnuts in open bottom pots which leads to root pruning and minimizing the tap root. |
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Post by philagardener on Jan 9, 2015 21:39:42 GMT -5
They can fruit anywehere from one year on up. It depends on the genetics and the growing conditions. Fruiting in one year from seed - am I reading that out of context, somehow? |
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Post by reed on Jan 10, 2015 6:17:36 GMT -5
Yea, deer here love everything, especially if you plant and try to take care of. I don't mind sharing a little of the produce but when they eat the trees, vines and seedlings I get pretty ticked. Cages around little trees are mandatory, more extreme tactics are commonly required.
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Post by castanea on Jan 11, 2015 21:23:13 GMT -5
They can fruit anywehere from one year on up. It depends on the genetics and the growing conditions. Fruiting in one year from seed - am I reading that out of context, somehow? You're not. I've actually had seedling trees from nuts that were planted in February produce nuts in August that same year. These were mostly from nuts from the Luther Burbank farm in Sebastopl, California. |
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Post by darrenabbey on Jan 11, 2015 22:54:34 GMT -5
You're not. I've actually had seedling trees from that were planted in February produce nuts in August that same year. These were mostly from nuts from the Luther Burbank farm in Sebastopl, California. That sounds really awesome. I was expecting some 15 years before any production. |
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Post by philagardener on Jan 12, 2015 7:43:41 GMT -5
Fruiting in one year from seed - am I reading that out of context, somehow? You're not. I've actually had seedling trees from that were planted in February produce nuts in August that same year. These were mostly from nuts from the Luther Burbank farm in Sebastopl, California. That's amazing - must be a record for a nut tree, and that certainly opens up a lot of potential for a breeding program. Do you know the species parentage of those? Unfortunately, Burbank often was a poor record keeper . . . . |
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Post by reed on Jan 12, 2015 8:21:45 GMT -5
That is amazing, I don't know much about chestnut trees except that there used to be lots of them and they were huge. If they mature to make seed that fast maybe continued selection or even applying Joseph's "hybrid swarm" technique would have a chance of making one that grew like the old American but also tolerant of the blight.
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Post by castanea on Jan 13, 2015 0:17:59 GMT -5
You're not. I've actually had seedling trees from that were planted in February produce nuts in August that same year. These were mostly from nuts from the Luther Burbank farm in Sebastopl, California. That's amazing - must be a record for a nut tree, and that certainly opens up a lot of potential for a breeding program. Do you know the species parentage of those? Unfortunately, Burbank often was a poor record keeper . . . . Burbank worked toward heavy and early production and smaller size in chestnut trees. He never really got around to working on blight resistance or nut quality. Most of his remaining trees tend to produce precocious sedlings with heavy productivity and large nuts but they're not blight resistant nor are the nuts particularly tasty. His best remaining tree for years was one called Stump Sprout which had large nuts with nice flavor but the tree was cut down a couple of years ago because it was too productive. It had been cut down once before which is how it came to be called Stump Sprout. I have one seedling tree that is 1/2 Burbank Stump Sprout. It's named Pandora. It has a very high quality nut. Pandora nuts:  |
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Post by castanea on Jan 13, 2015 0:21:17 GMT -5
For people waiting on chestnuts, it's too cold right now in too many places to safely mail them. I will watch for a warm spell. Here's another photo of Schlarbaum:  |
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Post by castanea on Jan 13, 2015 0:26:41 GMT -5
That is amazing, I don't know much about chestnut trees except that there used to be lots of them and they were huge. If they mature to make seed that fast maybe continued selection or even applying Joseph's "hybrid swarm" technique would have a chance of making one that grew like the old American but also tolerant of the blight. I've been able to do a lot of breeding work in the last 25 years in part because I have a long growing season. Even so, I have had a few individual chestnut trees take 15-18 years to produce their first nuts. This one took about 10 years to produce its first nuts: Yixian Orange  |
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Post by darrenabbey on Jan 13, 2015 1:34:53 GMT -5
His best remaining tree for years was one called Stump Sprout which had large nuts with nice flavor but the tree was cut down a couple of years ago because it was too productive. It had been cut down once before which is how it came to be called Stump Sprout. I have one seedling tree that is 1/2 Burbank Stump Sprout. It's named Pandora. It has a very high quality nut. Why would the tree be cut down for being too productive? I've been able to do a lot of breeding work in the last 25 years in part because I have a long growing season. Even so, I have had a few individual chestnut trees take 15-18 years to produce their first nuts. Ah, now I understand something of your motivation for sharing the seeds. ;-) What have been your primary breeding goals in this long-running project? |
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Post by castanea on Jan 16, 2015 22:00:04 GMT -5
The Burbank tree was cut down because it was in the middle of a seniors housing project that was carved out of Burbank's old farm, at the intersection of two sidewalks. The nuts and burs were a huge mess and maybe even potentially dangerous to older people walking through there especially at night. That's my guess. There are other Burbank trees still there but their nuts fall on lawn areas and not on the sidewalks.
I just like chestnuts, both the nuts and the trees. They are under-appreciated in the US. There has actually been very little breeding work with chetnuts in the US over the last 80 years aside from The American Chestnut Foundation, the Dunstan family and a very few others. There's lots of rooms to breed superior nuts. And the trees are easy to grow compared to many other fruit and nut trees.
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