One Thousand Chestnut Trees - a Whitetail Deer Project

[Familytradition]

I drove from Indiana to Texas today. Located a few Chinese chestnuts along the way. The best part was the fact that one was right across the street from my farm!


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[lakngolf]

I hope all these CHESTNUT trees don't turn out to be like sweet gums and kudzu!

 

[wbpdeer]

Lakngulf - That is sort of like hoping tomato plants don't turn out to be poke salad.

Wayne

 

[Mitch]

Wayne, why do the leaves turn black?


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[wbpdeer]

Wayne, why do the leaves turn black?


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I don't have an answer for why your leaves turned black. I wish I did but that is not the case. MattPatt might be able to answer why.

I would take them to a nursery and see if they could answer why. I did wonder what are the temperatures they have been exposed to and if the direct sunlight has been excessive.

Those are questions - not an answer. I see brown and yellow leaves but not black when my chestnuts suffer too much stress.

The black is caused by some stress - environmental, insect or disease. Wish I was more
help.

NOTE: I sent an inquiry to a person that might shed some light on this issue. Give it some time and I might have something to add.

Wayne

 

[Mitch]

Thank you sir!!!


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[H20fwler]

Wayne, why do the leaves turn black?


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I am no expert on chestnuts by any means....but when I have had leaves turn black and curl it is almost always too much water. Usually drastic leaf change is root trouble/stress of some sort.

 

[Jason Broom]

Here is a picture of the most precocious of the trees that grew from the chestnuts Wayne sent to me during the winter of 2015-2016. This one germinated around February 15th, 2016 and is one of 18 trees that have been planted in four counties, two in Indiana and two in Michigan. This tree is about 5' tall. It looks like there are suckers coming from the bottom, but those are from the trunk of the tree. I have not yet decided if I should cut them, bu will probably choose to leave them...not my will be done.

Here are a couple pictures of the other two chestnuts I planted here at my home in Morgan County, Indiana. These are only about half as tall right now, but located within 25' or so from the tree above.

Finally, here are 20 trees growing from the nuts Wayne sent me this spring, after the ones I got last fall failed to germinate. I'm not sure why so many struggled to produce a radical this year, but we really do have to be patient and let Nature set the pace. Notice that these chestnut trees have been nibbled on by some kind of bug. (They were sprayed just recently.) The 25 sawtooth and 14 dwarf chinkapin oak right next to them have not been chewed on at all, so it seems not only deer prefer these chestnuts to oaks...bugs do too! Also, see that little guy right in front? I don't know why he's smaller, but I suspect he'll do just fine, in the long run.

Thank you very much, Wayne, for putting in the time and effort to help us all learn how to grow these beauties. I sincerely believe you will reach your goal of 1,000 chestnut trees growing from the nuts you sent out, and if just one forgetful squirrel buries a nut from each of those trees...

Until there is a documented, blight-resistant, American Chestnut option, whether through selective breeding or gene modification, I will continue to grow and plant a few of these Chinese chestnut trees each year. Some day, Lord willing, they will not only feed deer, but add a nutty variety to my own diet, each fall!

 

[lakngolf]

Looking good Jason. I rode by my chestnut trees today and was amazed at the various stages of growth. And I do have some taller than me now, looking quite healthy.

 

[wbpdeer]

Jason Broom,

If we could see what is beneath the ground, many times we would know why some trees grow strong and tall and others grow at a slow rate. I have five chestnuts in my back yard and I am watching catkins and house flies pollenate them. My five trees are different structure. I have one shorter tree but it might have the most catkins.

The soil can be shallow in some places and deep in others.

My five young trees with the blooms on them have good leaves that are giving us protection against the wind. I must admit I am very excited to have a chance to get some chestnuts this fall from these five. That is if nature don't pitch me a change up.

Your trees look very healthy. Right now I am feeding my five young chestnuts trees and getting some reddish new leaves. In this zone I will stop feeding them right around the 4th of July. I want all of the new growth to harden off before cooler air shows up.

I have shipped 18,940 chestnuts in three years and I have given away about 210 seedlings at this point. Soon we are going to hear from folks that have a chestnut tree bearing chestnuts that was part of this project.

2017 will be the year of difficult germination. I don't know why but it has been for so many habitat growers. I got five chinkapins that germinated out of 18. That sucks! 2015 and 2016 were good germination years for me. The ride ain't always first class.

Regarding my five trees in my back yard - they are stress free. I have babied them and check on them constantly. A friend taught me to checking on the stuff you are growing each morning - if something needs some TLC - give it right then before it suffers another day.

Wayne

 

[John Barnes]

I've got 7 seedlings growing well in there new pots. I've got them on the east side of my pole building, moving them a little farther east every week to acclimate to sun and wind. Will put them in their permanent spots once they go dormant this fall.

I've got another 35 chinese chestnuts I bought this spring when I saw I wasn't getting much germination from the nuts. I've never had much luck planting bare root trees in the past, but so far I've got 20 of the 35 that are leafed out. The rest still look good, just taking their own sweet time.

For some reason the 'upload a file' option doesn't accomplish anything for me, so can't post pictures.

 

[Jason Broom]

I post pictures by first uploading them to an online site, then clicking the "Image" link on the tool bar, and copying the file location from the site were I uploaded it. You have to open the file on that site, right click on it and select "Copy Image Location", or something like it.

 

[wbpdeer]

Young Chestnut Trees Update

I have been watching my five young Chinese Chestnut Trees closely and I have two of the five with burs forming. All five are still holding blooms with four of the five well covered with blooms.

For reference size, the bur in the photo is approximately the size of a dime. They are hard to see due to the size of the chestnut leaves. I added a red circle to clearly indicate what we are referring to in the photo. I am excited at the prospects - hope my luck continues to run good.



Thanks for reading this thread - I hope we see these begin to form on the other three trees.

 

[lakngolf]

What age are those tlc trees?

 

[wbpdeer]

What age are those tlc trees?

Lak

The chestnut was collected in Sept 2014. Put in the fridge at that time. Put in growing media in a grow box in Jan 2015. Planted in my yard late April 2015 with my son getting a lesson on planting technique.

So they have been in the ground two years 2 months. Stress free situation - they get the best of care. No stress on these five young Chinese Chestnuts.

Wayne

 

[lakngolf]

Lak

The chestnut was collected in Sept 2014. Put in the fridge at that time. Put in growing media in a grow box in Jan 2015. Planted in my yard late April 2015 with my son getting a lesson on planting technique.

So they have been in the ground two years 2 months. Stress free situation - they get the best of care. No stress on these five young Chinese Chestnuts.

Wayne

That is good production, man. Great job. I hope my "less than TLC" trees can put on some nutts soon

 

[Cap'n]

Wayne, why do the leaves turn black?


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My guess is its a root problem. Most likely not enough drainage or percolation in your container. Stick your finger in the soil and compare the moisture level to one thats doing great. I've had to slit the sides of a pot or drill additional holes to keep them all on the same schedule as far as watering. The trees I direct planted and then transferred in to gallon pots with some of the native soil are doing worse than the one's i planted bare root into potting soil. All due to drainage or moisture retention.

 

[wbpdeer]

Cap'n

Thanks for your reply. I would say you nail it. Soil compaction is a killer or a limiting factor with a Chinese Chestnut. To have a healthy seedlings we need air to get to the roots. In my greenhouse I learned early the importance of fresh air.

When I upsize from the rootmaker 18 container, I add mini pine bark to the growing media. This increases drainage, increase air getting to the roots and improved the pH.

When you see a Chinese Chestnut in a container where the soil looks thick and is thick like a brick like texture, you are looking at a chestnut that needs to be released. It ain't getting the oxygen it needs to effectively grow. It might not die but sure will not thrive.

So Mitch needs to increase air flow and reduce his watering frequency.

Another point - you made - not every seedling is on the same schedule needs regarding water. Inexperienced planters have been known to cram the growing media into the container as tightly as possible. I made that mistake my first year - no more.

Wayne

 

[TreeDaddy]

The elusive mini pine bark nugget product is not available in texas

Shipping cost from other states is obscene

bill

 

[Jason Broom]

The elusive mini pine bark nugget product is not available in texas

Shipping cost from other states is obscene

bill

Regular pine bark nuggets, broken up by hand, works well enough, if my trees are any indication.

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