Permissions & Chestnuts

[BuckHunter26]

Hi everyone,

2 years ago I planted 6 permissions and 6 chestnut from mossy oak nativ nursery. I also planted 4 chestnuts from whitetail hill. During the first growing season, the permissions were doing well and grew about a foot, but are struggling since. 3 have died and the other 3 leafed out the 2nd year but did not grow much, if any. All the chestnuts have leafed out the past 2 years but have grown maybe a couple of inches. I am in zone 5a and all these trees were planted on higher ground with tree tubes.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why these trees aren’t doing well? Any suggestions on other nurseries to purchase chestnuts or permissions from? Thank you for your time.

 

[catscratch]

I'm in 7a. Can't get a chestnut to grow worth a damn. Know a guy 30 miles away that they grow great for him.

 

[Native Hunter]

Soil PH could be the problem. That's the first thing I would check. Both species like slightly acidic soils.

 

[gurgalunas]

I bought a bunch of MDC persimmons back in 2015. Most didn't make it in my smaller plots, but a row planted on an exposed hilltop lived, but didn't grow. After 5 years, I found myself with a bunch of extra tree tubes and stakes, so I cleaned up the row, identified probably 35 persimmon sticks, and tubed them. By the end of the growing season, probably half were out of the 4' tube, and most of the rest were adding significant growth inside the tube. Another 5 yrs later, they are 1.5- 2" diameter and starting to produce fruit.

What caused this? It has to be one of several things, or combo.
1. Tube effect based on light conditions/greenhouse effect.
2. Browse protection
3. Reduced competition from "cleaning up" the row.

Im sure it was a combo to some extent, but I really think #1 was very important. There wasn't an obvious browse issue on the sticks, they still looked like the original bare root trees with short leaf clusters- after 5 years- not gnawed off tops. And the weeds still grew in the row. I'd spray RU, but the Ragweed and waterhemp were not touched.

Anectotal, yes, but regardless of the reason, I'm a believer in tubes...