One Thousand Chestnut Trees - a Whitetail Deer Project

[wbpdeer]

JohnL48,

Just because it is cloudy and you don't lay eyes on the sun - the energy of daylight exceeds what the indoor lights give the plants. I hope other people will weigh in here.

What I see is "sun scald" - damage by too much daylight too soon. I would get these trees in the side when they are outside. You have some leaves that are crinkles / fried in my opinion.

At the least I would split the plants apart - protect the worst ones immediately. There are other growers on here that can give you feedback. MattPatt would be a good one - he deals with Texas heat but he don't start indoors like you and I.

Too much energy all too soon has kicked these plants too hard. That is why they look fried.

These aren't lost but they will be setback some. Put them on the north side of the house where they have constant shade until the process stops.

Sorry for the setback but it is part of it.

Wayne

 

[JohnL48]

Thanks Wayne,
They have had very little sun. They were right up against my shop (north side) in the shade for 2 weeks they had maybe a few hrs of full sun in the last 3 weeks . How long do you recommend shade before full sun ?

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[wbpdeer]

I am at a loss then - they look fried to me.

At this point I wish others would look at your photos and see what they think. Your seedlings looked very good at one point and now they are headed in the opposite direction.

Guess I can say - I am scratching my head. Not good place to be - but it is what it is.

Wayne

 

[JohnL48]

Looks like I have about a dozen on life support the others look promising

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[wbpdeer]

Don't give up on any of them. The tops can look death but they will come back from the roots.

If you take a knife blade and gently scrap the stem to see the color underneath. Green means they are still very much alive. I lost two out of 100 plants in my greenhouse over the winter. I am thinking that is great for my first winter with a greenhouse.

You do have some seedlings that look great. Hang in there on the others.

Wayne

 

[Jason Broom]

Wayne, I have a question that I don't know has been covered in your fine threads on growing Chinese chestnuts:

Once you've moved your trees outside, in RM18 cells or in grow bags, is there such a thing as TOO much rain? Where I'm at in Indiana, it sometimes rains every day for the better part of a week, although usually with breaks where I guess the soil could dry out a little. As long as we're using the appropriate well-drained grow media, is there any concern about plants staying wet due to rain?

ETA - My observations have been that the trees seem to absolutely thrive during these wet periods.

Jason

 

[wbpdeer]

Jason,

Your last sentence tells us everything we need to know. If the trees appear healthy and thriving then we don't over think what our eyes are showing us.

What would happen if you continually got rain is it cause issues with a few of the seedlings / trees (the weaker ones in the collection).

I don't like RM18s outside very long because the container is small and likely full of roots. In this situation it can be difficult to water them correctly and timely. Direct sunlight and wind can dry them out in that set of circumstances.

If I got to a point where I was concerned about too much rain, I would move them under a good shade tree on the side that gets the least rain.

If a RM18 container is full of roots, the extra rainfall may be helping it out. I like root pouches - but it means more growing media. It is not possible to grow seedlings without buying the necessary resources.

I think you have an excellent growing season. Enjoy your successes!!!

Wayne

 

[Jason Broom]

I plan to get the last of the trees out of the RM 18 cells this weekend. I'll have 21 chestnuts from the seed you harvested, 24 sawtooth oaks and about 12 DCO'S...that should keep me busy this Fall.

 

[wbpdeer]

Yes those numbers will be a great group to plant.

Most of all it makes me smile to visualize the deer and turkey down the road feeding on those great wildlife trees.

All of my efforts are for the whitetail deer - my son is the turkey hunter. Great job Jason!

Wayne

 

[Cap'n]

I finally have some Chestnuts with radicles. Weasel & Gator told me to just take them out of the fridge and they would start to grow radicles, and sure enough they are germinating. I have planted 10 so far. I put them in 1/2 gal milk cartons with 20-10-5 Best 12 slow release on the media. Pretty exciting. I have several landscapers giving me their 3 & 5 gal buckets so I can move them into this summer.

 

[Weasel]

I finally have some Chestnuts with radicles. Weasel & Gator told me to just take them out of the fridge and they would start to grow radicles, and sure enough they are germinating. I have planted 10 so far. I put them in 1/2 gal milk cartons with 20-10-5 Best 12 slow release on the media. Pretty exciting. I have several landscapers giving me their 3 & 5 gal buckets so I can move them into this summer.

Good to hear Cap'n. I got a late start on mine and despite my poor care, they're taking off. I have Rootmaker bags & potting mix ready for them, just need to make time to transfer them.

 

[JohnL48]

Frost / freeze warning here tonight. Guess I better move my 40 trees in my shop tonight

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[lakngolf]

Frost / freeze warning here tonight. Guess I better move my 40 trees in my shop tonight

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WHAT???

 

[JohnL48]

I kid you not. 31 degrees by morning. No apples this fall :-(

 

[Jason Broom]

Have your apples all blossomed out? I didn't think they were that far north.

 

[JohnL48]

Have your apples all blossomed out? I didn't think they were that far north.

My trees at my house in new jersey are in full bloom. Not sure at my cabin in NY too busy to get there

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[John Barnes]

Just inspected my chestnuts again. 8 have produced a radicle, with 6 of those showing topgrowth. 1 of those put on a half inch of topgrowth, then stopped, and looks like it died. Leaving it alone in case it sprouts another shoot.

Of the remaining nuts, 9 are still firm and have been put together in a 5 gallon pot to see if any of them do anything. The remaining nuts were squishy and have been thrown out.

Thanks again Wayne.

 

[JohnL48]

My trees are looking better but now leaves on some are getting brown. I'm thinking they need fertilizer ? Was going to put some 10-10-10 but how much do I put in the root pouches

 

[Mitch]

Don't ever let them exposed to the crazy winds we've had here in north Texas. I made that mistake this week. When I got home I immediately brought them back in the garage and watered them heavily. They are on life support right now, we shall see.


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[Jason Broom]

One thing that may come out of Wayne's dedication to helping folks start their own Chinese chestnut trees from seed is that we will all probably learn the geographical limits on how far north and south this species can thrive and where it may just barely survive. I've got some planted in a location on the edge between 5 and 4b. I haven't been brave enough to plant any at the 4a property, but maybe I should, just to see what happens? The thing is, I get kind of attached to the little guys and don't want to "experiment" with them, at least not at this stage. I talked to the forester for the region and he's not even sure they'll do very well in the worst of Zone 5 winters. Time will tell!