Sprouted Chestnuts

[Mark1427]

I checked on the chestnuts stored in the crisper and found 5 have sprouted. Would it hurt to put these into 18 cell pots this early I'm in southeast Virginia.
I had some Chinquapins sprout in the fridge last year and I waited to plant. The radicals dried out and the nuts died.
Thanks for the replies.
Mark

 

[weekender21]

Mark,

More of a question than an answer for you. Do you have the chestnuts in damp sphagnum peat moss?

I'm doing the same thing this year but from afar. I have 2 pounds of chestnuts in a gallon ziplock at my dads house on the east cost. There is a damp paper towel in the bag but no sphagnum yet. I won't be able to direct seed mine until late April so I had planned for him to add sphagnum at some point in early March.

Mattpatt (forum handle) on here has done quite a bit of experimenting with chestnuts and I got the idea from him. My hope is that the damp sphagnum will prevent the chestnut radicals from drying out.

 

[Mark1427]

I do have them in damp sphagnum. The radicals are turning around the nut and are at least an 1" to 1 1/2" a long.
Also I had some of them mold in the sphagnum. A hot tip that I got from the forum was to store in smaller groups incase of mold issues. That way the whole big bag won't be lost.

 

[weekender21]

I do have them in damp sphagnum. The radicals are turning around the nut and are at least an 1" to 1 1/2" a long.
Also I had some of them mold in the sphagnum. A hot tip that I got from the forum was to store in smaller groups incase of mold issues. That way the whole big bag won't be lost.

Yep, I'm going to ask my dad to split them into three groups when he adds the moss. The reason I'm waiting so long to add sphagnum is to avoid early radicals. I would love to plant them inside and baby them but I'm not asking my old man to take on the project. I'm hoping to have small radicals as I'm putting them in the ground in April.

Are you planning to put them in 18's inside or outside? If I were you, my biggest concern would be having to move them outdoors before the cold weather is over. Of course it's no big deal if you have a greenhouse or another way to control the environment.

With 1-1.5” radicals I don’t think you have a choice at this point. I’d get them planted one way or another but that’s just based on research, not first hand experience.

 

[Mark1427]

I did the paper towels my first year and all of them molded. I didn't have the first one sprout last year, which is why it surprised me this year.
I keep mine outside. I planted mid March last year. I may put them in a tray and keep them in my shed and covered.

 

[weekender21]

Interesting. I saw these in late December and they looked great but I guess it’s possible they dried out already. Light condensation in the bag.


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[Mark1427]

If the bags are closed it holds moisture in and can cause the mold. If to much moisture escapes that's when they can dry out.

 

[Cap'n]

I checked on the chestnuts stored in the crisper and found 5 have sprouted. Would it hurt to put these into 18 cell pots this early I'm in southeast Virginia.
I had some Chinquapins sprout in the fridge last year and I waited to plant. The radicals dried out and the nuts died.
Thanks for the replies.
Mark

Wow thats early. Yeah I believe you will need to plant them. You might need to move the chestnuts to a colder part of the fridge so they don't continue to germinate. I have mine in a little fridge in the garage and it's so cold mine wouldn't germinate until I took them out and put them in my well house in late april.

 

[Mark1427]

The tree they came from dropped in mid September. I think that I got 60 nuts from it this year. Poor production year.
I'm hoping they'll take and be good trees.

 

[wbpdeer]

Mark1427,

If I had a radicle (same term as a sprout) yes you can go ahead and put them in a container. Get a calendar and count forward 12 weeks and 14 weeks. That is likely when you would want to plant them in their final location or move them larger pots.

If you have 60 nuts, not all will sprout and some that do sprout will not make a seedling. If you hit 50% (I think that is low), do you have a location you can plant 30 chestnut trees properly?

When I move them out of the fridge, I fill all of my trays up. I don't wait for the chestnut to sprout, I have a grow box and it will be warm enough to wake them up.

Nature will reclaim the weak - so losses are part of it. If have 60 chestnuts - could you plant 40 seedlings? 45 would be a 75% success rate and that would be excellent on viable trees / seedlings. I will suggest 40 to 45 will be where you wind up 12 to 14 weeks down the road.

Good luck. Hope my words help you out.

Wayne

 

[Mark1427]

Checked on them again and more have sprouted. Filled an 18 cell tray with all sprouted nuts.