We've grown Dunstan Chestnut trees from seed / nuts since 2013. Our best trees began producing nuts in five years, with most taking 7 years to start producing.
We've had tremendous success using rootmaker pots, but wanted to find an easier method.
So this past fall, I picked up 50 or so nuts from our best producing tree. We kept them in the fridge crisper until March. After giving away 1/2 of the nuts, I direct planted 10 nuts and planted the remaining 15 in rootmaker pots.
The direct planting method produced 6 trees while the pot planted nuts are at 100% growth success. Considering the cost of potting soil - pots, and time, I think 60% is a great rate for direct seeding in the future. I need to add tree tubes when planting as squirrels or mice probably dug up the few nuts that didn't grow.
Anyone else having success direct seeding Chestnuts?
We've had tremendous success using rootmaker pots, but wanted to find an easier method.
So this past fall, I picked up 50 or so nuts from our best producing tree. We kept them in the fridge crisper until March. After giving away 1/2 of the nuts, I direct planted 10 nuts and planted the remaining 15 in rootmaker pots.
The direct planting method produced 6 trees while the pot planted nuts are at 100% growth success. Considering the cost of potting soil - pots, and time, I think 60% is a great rate for direct seeding in the future. I need to add tree tubes when planting as squirrels or mice probably dug up the few nuts that didn't grow.
Anyone else having success direct seeding Chestnuts?