Dunstan Chestnut Trees

[Savage]

FYI- Rural King in Crossville has Chestnut hill trees in 3 gal pots for 35.99

 

[mcbuck58]

I have an orchard with pears,peaches and apples i will add it to . Should do fine

Yes sir that will work

 

[Savage]

I know where there is a Chinese Chestnut dropping heavy. I think I am going to pic up some seeds and line them out to see if they will come up.

 

[mcbuck58]

I know where there is a Chinese Chestnut dropping heavy. I think I am going to pic up some seeds and line them out to see if they will come up.

What do you mean by "line them out"?

 

[Savage]

What do you mean by "line them out"?

I grew up on a nursery in McMinnville. Lots of times with seedlings, we "line the seeds out" in rows, where we can dig them in a bare root setting the following year in dormancy.

 

[mcbuck58]

I grew up on a nursery in McMinnville. Lots of times with seedlings, we "line the seeds out" in rows, where we can dig them in a bare root setting the following year in dormancy.

Thanks for the explanation

 

[Savage]

Thanks for the explanation

The seedlings that we took up were then graded and sold as "liners" often to sell to people who would put in pots.

 

[mcbuck58]

The seedlings that we took up were then graded and sold as "liners" often to sell to people who would put in pots.

So you would put them in the line in the fall and let them stratify in the ground over winter. If that's true how deep would you place the seeds.

 

[Savage]

So you would put them in the line in the fall and let them stratify in the ground over winter. If that's true how deep would you place the seeds.

It depends. We never tried chestnut, but generally 2-3". ( below the frost line). For a lot of the seeds we would cover them with sawdust. That prevents a hard shell of dirt from forming in the dirt and lets them come up easier.

I seem to remember a general rule from Ag classes about doubling the seed diameter, but can't remember the exact details.

 

[mcbuck58]

It depends. We never tried chestnut, but generally 2-3". ( below the frost line). For a lot of the seeds we would cover them with sawdust. That prevents a hard shell of dirt from forming in the dirt and lets them come up easier.

I seem to remember a general rule from Ag classes about doubling the seed diameter, but can't remember the exact details.

After my chestnuts are stratified in the fridge I just press them into the dirt in the pot. Maybe 1/4 " at the most. Out in the wild they just lay on top of the dirt under fall leaf litter unless a squirrel buries it.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Second question.
I use special pots that are ribbed and air prune the roots. No circling of roots at all.
Roots after one month of growth in my house during March.

View attachment 221369Roots in September.

View attachment 221371View attachment 221372
Third question.
I harvest my own nuts. If you are looking for nuts to eat or plant ( there is a difference) buy from Chestnut Ridge of Pike County. They are located in Illinois. They are a 30 year old orchard that was grown from Dunstan chestnut trees from Chestnut Hill nursery in Florida.

I just received my 1 lb of chestnuts from Chestnut Ridge. There were 46 of them in that 1 lb. I got them in the stratifying process now exactly how you show in this thread and drilled my holes in the lid. The other 9 (on the left) are from a friends backyard. We will see what happens

 

[mcbuck58]

I just received my 1 lb of chestnuts from Chestnut Ridge. There were 46 of them in that 1 lb. I got them in the stratifying process now exactly how you show in this thread and drilled my holes in the lid. The other 9 (on the left) are from a friends backyard. We will see what happens

Alrighty then looks good. 34 to 36 degrees. They'll be ready to pull out end of February. Good luck

 

[Gobble4me757]

Is 20$ good price for a 3 gal dunstan? It's about 8-9ft tall from chestnut hill farms. There are some deer candy persimmons as well for 20… Should I get some?

 

[mcbuck58]

Is 20$ good price for a 3 gal dunstan? It's about 8-9ft tall from chestnut hill farms. There are some deer candy persimmons as well for 20… Should I get some?

Yes they must be marked down. Good deal buy them. Chestnut Hill has four varieties of that Persimmon. They are grafted trees so they won't get large. Need at least two for pollination. More than two better production. I buy American Persimmons from Nativ Nurseries (mossy oak) bare root in the fall to plant.

 

[Gobble4me757]

You say grafted…does that mean they will produce fruit or is it still a toss up? It's the reason I haven't bought persimmons as I don't care to have non fruit bearing ones while I can plant other fruit and mast trees

 

[mcbuck58]

You say grafted…does that mean they will produce fruit or is it still a toss up? It's the reason I haven't bought persimmons as I don't care to have non fruit bearing ones while I can plant other fruit and mast trees

No they will produce fruit. Grafted means you take a known variety branch and graft (connect) it to a known good growing rootstock. Some people don't like grafted trees cause sometimes they are weak or get infected at the graft. When buying a grafted tree always inspect the graft. Not trying to scare you off lots of grafted trees do just fine.

 

[mcbuck58]

You say grafted…does that mean they will produce fruit or is it still a toss up? It's the reason I haven't bought persimmons as I don't care to have non fruit bearing ones while I can plant other fruit and mast trees

Persimmons like a true American Persimmon are a different animal altogether. Some are male trees some are female trees. So you need both. The male tree does not produce fruit. Chestnut trees have both female and male parts but they are not able to pollinate themselves.

 

[Lucky Goose]

I'm a big fan of the dunstans and so are the deer. ha. I have a small grove and every year I raise what nuts I can gather into saplings. This year I have about 60 that are 15-20" tall and ready for fall planting if anyone may still be looking for some.