CHESTNUT

B

bill turlik

Member
i have been planting pear and crab apple trees for a couple years we have turkey oaks but though i would try some chestnuts like most there are different types so what would work best american , Chinese ,hybrid they all have good and bad points this is mostly for deer so any help would be nice thanks bill
 
There were several threads on the old forum about the topic

I believe jack yoder moved some of them over to habitat talk

bill
 
Chinese grow three times as fast as Dunstans for me. But I would plant both of them for diversity.

The main thing with chestnuts is get trees known to be immune to Cryphonectia parasitica or you could be in for some severe heartache. It would be a bummer to nurture something along for years, only to see it die and there is nothing you can do about it.
 
I use tubes when I have them available - I like cages too. I always add moisture miser to the planting hole - crystals that absorb water about a 1,000 times its weight. They really help during the first summer of planting. I am a big fan of Chinese Chestnut over Dunstans. I have both. The Chinese Chestnut is more resilient IMO.

Do believe I have helped plenty of folks get some chestnuts in the ground - which is great for the deer!!!
 
I have planted both, but any future plantings will be chinese only. The chinese chestnuts produce earlier, grow faster, are much cheaper, and will produce bigger yields from what I read. Best source I have found for chinese is buy them from the wildlife group, $3 for a 3 foot tree they ship with roots wrapped in wet paper. You won't believe how fast they grow. I have some that are over 15 feet tall and only in the ground for 3-4 years. Some I caged just the trunk, others I just stuck in the ground. Both like full or as much sunlight as possible for best results. My earliest trees (all dunstans) are pushing five years old, still no nuts on either type yet, maybe this is the year. Some are about 3 inches in diameter, so it's about time. Thinking I may have spaced them to far apart. We'll see...
 
I have Chinese, Hybrid, Dunstan and Buck IVs. For cheap and fast growing. Chinese win hands down. I’m hoping for my first nuts off of some of my tees this year. A tube or cage is a must if you care about them.


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Boone said:
Do you guys use tubes mostly or cages? Pea gravel, aluminum screen for the base?
Click to expand...

I do the aluminum screen cage and I use mulch for the first two summers. I don't have much of a mice/vole problem and think mulch helps hold moisture better, just my preference.
I'm not a fan of tubes at all.
 
well i ordered 12 Chinese chestnuts today and i like cages better than tubes now thats just me and thanks for are the info it helped me thanks again bill
 
TreeDaddy said:
i knew we would get around to tubes vs cages sooner or later.........

bill
Click to expand...

I use whatever I have on hand at the time. Cages will certainly outlast tubes. Tubes allow them to grow fast the first couple of years but by year five or so the caged tree as caught up with the one in the tube in most cases. Both have their place.

My ideal setup would be a six foot in diameter cage. Clear all vegetation where the cage will be placed. Plant tree. Lay down weed mat then pea gravel over top to cover. Place window screening around trunk of tree to protect it. Place cage around tree and secure with a couple of fence posts.

Matt
 
What I started doing is tubing, then piling branches that fell off trees and or hing cutting trees around the tubed tree to prevent deer/cattle from messing with it. Cheaper than wire and readily available.I also sprayed a 5' diameter circle with Gly and Prodiamine around each tube, used moisture crystals, & 20-10-5 year long slow release fert on each tree. We have a never ending supply of banches broken off from ice storms or high winds so it makes it easy in my area.
 
Chinese Chestnuts look to be pretty awesome. Would you recommend planting a group of these on their own or can I mix these in with my fruit orchard? What's the expected drop time on these?
 
Ditto to Matt's post (#13) above .... except I never use tubes and raise 5' used woven wire 18 inches off the ground (makes top of cage 6.5') and no problem since since you have screen around the trunk starting at ground level. Since the bottom of my cages are not resting on the ground, I ensure a solid support system by using 2 steel T-posts (buy them used at farm sales, craig's list, etc. for as little as .50) and 2 pieces of 3/8 re-bar for 4 posts (I have a lot of pushie - sic - deer). After initial installation, I won't remove/change cage for 7-8 years. Once and done for me! saves time and trees in the long run.
Here is a great read on Chinese chestnuts ... http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/pubs/chestnut.pdf
 
Last edited:
Sam16 said:
Chinese Chestnuts look to be pretty awesome. Would you recommend planting a group of these on their own or can I mix these in with my fruit orchard? What's the expected drop time on these?
Click to expand...

Chinese drop early around. If you want some with drop times in the heart of hunting season look at the Buck series of Chestnuts marketed and sold by The Wildlife Group. There’s no problem planting them in amongst fruit trees. Just space them out so that when the Chestnuts get y’all they don’t shade out the shorter fruit trees.

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum
 
Well I have not tried anything other than 3 gallon potted trees from Chestnut Hill. They have done well for me and I got my first nuts last fall after being in the ground for 3 years. These are more expensive (like $20 or $30 each) but it was how I started. Because these are bigger I cage mine, similar to fruit trees. I only needed a couple so the expense wasn't as much of an issue. I try to plant them in clusters of 3 to facilitate pollination.
 
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