Looks good DoubleRidge
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Dunstan Chestnut Trees
- Thread starter DoubleRidge
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Haven't checked my chestnuts in a week or so. I see pollination is over. Catkins falling off and the pollen collecting hairs on the female flowers (burs) have fallen off too.
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Burs enlarging so they got pollinated. Got burs enlarging on 5 to 9 year old trees and a couple 4 year olds. Last year caught some frost and production was about half. This year looking good.
Seedlings are doing good. Found a grey tree frog hiding in them.
Edit-
Burs enlarging so they got pollinated. Got burs enlarging on 5 to 9 year old trees and a couple 4 year olds. Last year caught some frost and production was about half. This year looking good.
Seedlings are doing good. Found a grey tree frog hiding in them.
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DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Great update! Thanks! Looking good!
Thanks DoubleRidge
Granddaddy
Well-Known Member
Potted trees are best planted in the spring after last frost. The fall planting rule applies to bare root stock trees & most folks mistakenly apply that rule to potted trees.
I've planted potted trees both spring and fall. I've planted bare root trees both spring and fall. Now I only have experience from southern KY to northern IL but have more than 40 years of experience and planted lots and I mean lots of trees. I believe the best time to plant potted or bare root trees is in the fall. Trees without leaves and in dormancy don't need near as much water as a tree actively growing shoots, leaves, flowers and fruit or nuts. Not trying to argue just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge from nurseries and professional tree planters.
Granddaddy
Well-Known Member
I agree. That said, most potted plants bought at nurseries or the big box stores are active, growing trees. Mine have always done best planted in the spring to give the roots time to grow thru the summer & then support the trees over the fall/winter (of course this requires routine watering & mulching for best results). This seems to better prepare the young trees for winter conditions in my experience - related to potted trees. I've had great luck with several potted varieties of white oaks & fruit trees planted in the spring. My pecan trees were all bare root planted in the fall as you describe.
It's interesting about the hybrid chestnuts. I have several that have been producing an abundant number of fruits for several years but the deer here have not been actively browsing them. It seems like they are unfamiliar with them & have preferred the white oak acorns from the native trees in my woods. I'm guessing they haven't learned how to get to the fruits without being put off by the prickly covers.
Here in south central KY the ground does not freeze. Roots continue to grow even though tree is dormant. That winter and spring gives the tree a jump start for its first summer. I plant my Dunstan seedlings in the fall. I use weed mats that stops competing grass and weeds and helps hold moisture. I use 5' tree tubes that protect from deer and rabbits. They also act as a greenhouse in the winter and the double wall condenses a little water when it's hot. Have four orchards with 300 trees of Dunstan's, wild crab apple, deer pear, American persimmon and Mexican plum. All fall planted, Dunstan's from my pots and fruit were bare root. Orchards are far from house never taken any water out to trees.
About your second paragraph. I do not let my trees branch until they are 5'. That keeps them out of the deer's reach for the most part. Branches growing down from 5' are pruned. I don't want deer browsing on my trees. Don't want them to figure out it's like ice cream or they might start standing up to get at them. My husk usually open on the tree and spit the nuts. The husk fall off later. Got deer and other critters eating all the nuts. If I'm looking for nuts to eat or cold stratify it's best to go out late in day as the ones that fall through the night are gone.
Granddaddy
Well-Known Member
I'm in mid - GA between Newnan & Lagrange & our falls are very summer-like with very gradual temp changes. First frosts of late are generally in early Nov. Maybe that's why many of our chestnuts fall with husks attached (or maybe it's the variety variables).
Got a little over an inch of rain yesterday between 7 and 9 pm. Been almost three weeks since last rain.
Chestnut husk are really growing in size. Older trees are loaded and younger trees have a good amount of husk.
Seedlings are doing great.
Chestnut husk are really growing in size. Older trees are loaded and younger trees have a good amount of husk.
Seedlings are doing great.
gladesman60
Well-Known Member
My trees are absolutely loaded this year. I had a 3yr old tree I started from seed that actually had blooms on it. For some reason the cicadas took a liking to that one and broke just the tips of the limbs that had blooms. Nature is weird.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Nice!! Looking good!! Hoping to get to the property and check on our chestnut trees this weekend or next week...and yes, the recent rains have been a blessing!!
This is a few years ago. Had two three year old trees that had husk on them. One had two and one had six.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Mcbuck58....you have mention before pruning lower limbs to develop a straight tree trunk with fewer lower branches....my question is have you ever experimented with air layering a chestnut branch? Or...have you ever tried to root a chestnut cutting? Im just curious because I have two trees with lower limbs that need pruning and one tree which I thought died but thankfully came back...except now there are three stems....want to prune two and keep center, main stem....just wondering, like with a lower limb, could I air layer the extra main stems in an effort to start two more trees?
To tell you the truth I have never tried air layering. Stratifing, growing, pruning and watering over 300 nuts to trees and caring for 300 trees in four orchards keeps me busy enough. It's a neat concept and you supposedly get an identical tree. Go for it and tell us how it works out.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
To tell you the truth....if I had 300 trees in four orchards I wouldn't have any interest in air layering either...but I dont...I have 8 chestnuts trees alive and well...and my attempt at stratifing 20 chestnuts was a bust this year. Between rodents and white mold I had zero success...but I will absolutely try to start more from nuts again....I just need to prune a couple limbs and extra stems and thought I might give air layering a try.....I also have a couple of crape myrtle that have a few wild limbs my wife wants cut...may try air layering on them too...fun to experiment....on a more positive note, I have been successul with my first attempt with air prune boxes. Currently have around 17 persimmon and 75 sawtooth growing strong.
Please keep us up to date on your progress. Good luck.
Seedlings are looking great. They are between 24 and 42 inches tall, not including pot and roots. Trees out in my orchards between 5 and 8 years old have lots of husks. About two weeks ago noticed Japanese beetles coming out. Spray seedlings with Sevin and set up a couple of Japanese beetle traps. Have no big deal with them. This spring I had two different size white grubs coming out of yard. Well I figured the small one was Japanese beetle. Wasn't sure what the larger one was. Well this is the first time that I've had an infestation of Green June beetles. It's a big beetle that's an inch long and half inch wide. It's different from a June bug (which is a beetle). June bug brown to reddish brown comes out at night to eat, mate and lay eggs seen around lights. Green June beetle is green and comes out during daylight (most active during sunny hot part of the day) to feed, mate and lay eggs. Good thing is that Sevin keeps them off the seedlings or if they feed they die. Saw on internet that you mix molasses and water to capture and drown them. Well that did not work at all. Have probably killed 300 to 400 last five days with tennis racket or foot smash when they land on grass to go lay eggs. Guess I'll need to treat lawn this fall to kill them. Guess that's why the moles like my yard. Killed a skunk early one morning about two months ago that was digging holes in my yard.
Seedlings this morning
Green June beetle
Japanese beetle
Seedlings this morning
Green June beetle
Japanese beetle
Chapman
Well-Known Member
I doubt that air layering or rooting cuttings would be successful on a chestnut tree. Certain types of trees can be rooted and air layered but not all. I have rooted lots of fig tree cuttings, a few mulberries and a few Meyer lemon cuttings. I tried air layering a Southern Magnolia with no success but I heard it can be done at a certain time of year.
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