growing Dunstan Chestnut trees

[TNlandowner]

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?

 

[gladesman60]

Only by accident. Every year I have a few seedlings that pop up around my trees. I dig them up and put them in pots so I dont run them over with the bush hog. I stratify 30 or 40 every year and get probably 90% success on germination. If this is any indication its going to be a bumper crop this year.

 

[TNlandowner]

That tree should be loaded!

 

[gladesman60]

That tree should be loaded!

I hope so, I have 20 that look just like that and another dozen that are a few years younger but are well bloomed for their size. I am going to spray half of them with Zinc after the blooms are gone and compare those with the rest. I have read that helps set the nuts , we will see.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Wish I could contribute to the conversation but I've just started the process.....last year planted our first three Dunstan Chestnut.....they are currently alive and well....weed mat and mulched inside a cage....so far so good.....hope to add more soon.

 

[dg7080]

I've been growing Dunstans for several years now. I typically stratify around 50 nuts over the winter and then move them to pots when they sprout in the early spring. I have and do direct sow a few nuts every year but have not tracked the % that sprout vs the potted. I would guess that I have about a 95% success rate with the potted nuts and about a 40 - 50% success rate with the direct seeding. I might add that I did direct seed about a dozen on a garden row a few years ago and those came up 100%. This year I've got about potted 20 saplings that I am going to sell. The rest will have new homes around the farm.
I also have gotten into growing pure American Chestnuts I got from the American Chestnut Foundation. They have an ongoing effort to one day hopefully restore this once great tree to our forests. They seem to sprout just as good as the Dunstan's but definitely grow at a little slower rate, at least in the soils I use.
My 2 cents, aint worth much...

 

[gladesman60]

I've been growing Dunstans for several years now. I typically stratify around 50 nuts over the winter and then move them to pots when they sprout in the early spring. I have and do direct sow a few nuts every year but have not tracked the % that sprout vs the potted. I would guess that I have about a 95% success rate with the potted nuts and about a 40 - 50% success rate with the direct seeding. I might add that I did direct seed about a dozen on a garden row a few years ago and those came up 100%. This year I've got about potted 20 saplings that I am going to sell. The rest will have new homes around the farm.
I also have gotten into growing pure American Chestnuts I got from the American Chestnut Foundation. They have an ongoing effort to one day hopefully restore this once great tree to our forests. They seem to sprout just as good as the Dunstan's but definitely grow at a little slower rate, at least in the soils I use.
My 2 cents, aint worth much...

How old are your American chestnuts? Do they have any stipulation that you not plant them near non native or hybrid chestnut trees? Would like to get some true Americans but I wouldnt want them near my hybrids due to cross pollination concerns.

 

[dg7080]

How old are your American chestnuts? Do they have any stipulation that you not plant them near non native or hybrid chestnut trees? Would like to get some true Americans but I wouldnt want them near my hybrids due to cross pollination concerns.

My American are brand new, just hatched them this past winter. I had some 2 years ago and they died before I could get them in the ground in the fall. This years American appear to be much healthier..

These are going to be planted about 300 yards from the nearest Dunstan. I will plant them in a small grove/orchard type layout and if the ACF gets approval for their transgenic tree (hopefully its approved in 2023) which appears to be blight resistant, they will be sending me one to plant among my pure Americans with hopes of this little chestnut grove producing offspring that are blight resistant in the future. And yes, the guy they made the nuts available this past winter stipulated the above.

 

[TNlandowner]

Wish I could contribute to the conversation but I've just started the process.....last year planted our first three Dunstan Chestnut.....they are currently alive and well....weed mat and mulched inside a cage....so far so good.....hope to add more soon.

Good luck! You may have nuts in the next few years. Keep buying a few every year until you can get your own nuts. It's a great hobby / fun adventure. We also planted a lot of sawtooth oaks which have been fairly low maintenance... the Chestnuts are more interesting ;o)

 

[DoubleRidge]

Good luck! You may have nuts in the next few years. Keep buying a few every year until you can get your own nuts. It's a great hobby / fun adventure. We also planted a lot of sawtooth oaks which have been fairly low maintenance... the Chestnuts are more interesting ;o)

Looking forward to adding more Dunstan Chestnut trees in the future...I absolutely plan to start more from nuts when I start getting them .....I also have one Chinese Chestnut growing in a pot that's doing good...I actually got two Chinese Chestnut bare root seedlings back in the spring at a local free tree giveaway....the one made it and one didn't....Also have several sawtooths in pots that I plan to transplant this fall.... enjoy tending the trees and watching them grow.

 

[BSK]

I also have one Chinese Chestnut growing in a pot that's doing good...I actually got two Chinese Chestnut bare root seedlings back in the spring at a local free tree giveaway....the one made it and one didn't...

My parents had some big (for the species), mature Chinese Chestnuts in their yard. Deer go crazy over those things. I've watched deer stand on their hind legs trying to flail-kick nuts off the trees with their front hooves.

 

[TNlandowner]

My parents had some big (for the species), mature Chinese Chestnuts in their yard. Deer go crazy over those things. I've watched deer stand on their hind legs trying to flail-kick nuts off the trees with their front hooves.

I wonder which Chestnut variety deer prefer: American, Chinese, or the Dunstan hybrid. I've got Dunstan and Chinese varieties planted on different sides of our property. I may do a camera observation study this fall.

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

I started buying some from Walmart/rural king about 4 years ago. Just to get a jump start on some mature ones to be able to grow my own. I had member send me 25 nuts 3 years ago. I stratified them in the fridge. Then planted them in the mulch around our house for the first summer and in the fall transplanted them to the farm. I had about a 75% success rate. I enjoy growing my own but now if one dies I replace it with a store bought one to hopefully keep up and match the rest. I think I'm up to 38 dunstan amd 22 sawtooth oaks, 22 apple trees (wide variety late dropping) 4 crabapple and 2 peach trees.

My son and I do it together as he enjoys watching "his" trees grow yearly. I need to find About 20 more sawtooth oaks somewhere soon.

Good luck. It's hard to not keep planting lol. Probably my favorite hobby besides hunting.

 

[BSK]

I wonder which Chestnut variety deer prefer: American, Chinese, or the Dunstan hybrid. I've got Dunstan and Chinese varieties planted on different sides of our property. I may do a camera observation study this fall.

That would be fascinating.

 

[30 T/C]

Only by accident. Every year I have a few seedlings that pop up around my trees. I dig them up and put them in pots so I dont run them over with the bush hog. I stratify 30 or 40 every year and get probably 90% success on germination. If this is any indication its going to be a bumper crop this year.

If you have a bumper crop this fall, I would like to get some to plant on my small farm.

 

[gladesman60]

no problem. just remind me sometime in early October

 

[Shooter77]

I started buying some from Walmart/rural king about 4 years ago. Just to get a jump start on some mature ones to be able to grow my own. I had member send me 25 nuts 3 years ago. I stratified them in the fridge. Then planted them in the mulch around our house for the first summer and in the fall transplanted them to the farm. I had about a 75% success rate. I enjoy growing my own but now if one dies I replace it with a store bought one to hopefully keep up and match the rest. I think I'm up to 38 dunstan amd 22 sawtooth oaks, 22 apple trees (wide variety late dropping) 4 crabapple and 2 peach trees.

My son and I do it together as he enjoys watching "his" trees grow yearly. I need to find About 20 more sawtooth oaks somewhere soon.

Good luck. It's hard to not keep planting lol. Probably my favorite hobby besides hunting.

Mossy Oak has them on sale right now.

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[Tn_Va_Hunter]

Mossy Oak has them on sale right now.

Sawtooth Oak 12 Pack for 39.99

Enjoy special pricing of $39.99 and 10.99 flat rate shipping on bundles of 12 Sawtooth Oaks for a limited time! Customers often ask us… “How come you call yourselves the Nativ Nursery, and offer the non-native sawtooth oak?” Our answer is… “It’s native somewhere.” Sawtooth oak has been an...

www.nativnurseries.com

Good deal !

 

[spur necklace 3]

May just be me, but for some reason I had much much better luck with the sawtooths from the wildlife group than from native nurseries. Curious if anyone has had any sawtooths start to produce yet and exactly when they drop?

 

[BSK]

Curious if anyone has had any sawtooths start to produce yet and exactly when they drop?

I believe ours started producing acorns about year 6 or 7. Sawtooths general start dropping acorns earlier than other oaks, say mid-September, and deer really go for them until the White Oaks start falling.