In this episode, I cover an overview of the different types of chestnuts. And why do customers prefer hybrids over Chinese chestnuts? I share what named varieties that I am growing this year. And I give you tips to start your chestnut orchard, including soil pH and how/when to fertilize your chestnut trees.
I have grown chestnuts from seed, sold chestnut trees online and in person. I usually hand forage buckets of chestnuts from a couple of Chinese chestnut trees every Fall and store them in buckets of sand to sprout over the Winter. But in Spring 2024 my stored chestnuts were moldy and rotten – they had failed over the winter.
I learned a lot more as I have diversified my chestnut offerings in response to this loss, as well as expanded my knowledge through my in real life contacts. In this article I will share what I have learned so it will help you as well.
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Varieties of Chestnuts
First, to set the stage, let’s review the main high-level types of chestnuts before diving into the varieties.
American chestnuts (Castanea dentata for those of you who like the Latin taxonomy name) are the very large chestnut trees that were (mostly) wiped out by the blight in the early 1900’s. Some pure American chestnuts still exist but they are extremely susceptible to blight.
Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima) and their varieties are widely available They are highly blight resistant. The trees do not grow as tall or wide as American chestnuts, and they are more rounded in shape. They tend to pollinate earlier and drop chestnuts earlier (in Kansas they drop nuts starting in early September, with most dropped by early October). The nuts are medium sized, and lighter brown in color. Some people think that the chestnuts taste more starchy than other types of chestnuts.
European chestnuts (Castanea sativa) are grown throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. They reportedly have flavorful nuts, that are sweeter and less starchy than Chinese chestnuts, and are more marketable. European chestnut trees are susceptible to blight unless they are crossed with other types. It seems like most of them are crossed with Japanese varieties rather than Chinese or American varieties. These hybrids usually have French or Italian names. These hybrids are the main types of chestnuts grown commercially in Michigan (according to Michigan State University).
Japanese chestnuts (Castanea crenata) are highly blight resistant and have large nuts. They are often crossed with European varieties.
I do not have much experience with European and Japanese hybrids but I have ordered some Japanese hybrid seedlings from Twisted Tree Farm to try out, to see how well they adapt to Kansas climate. I am also sprouting some European/Japanese hybrids from seed.
American/Chinese hybrid chestnuts
American and Chinese hybrids: The trees get larger than Chinese chestnut trees. The nuts are darker and often larger. The American/Chinese hybrid chestnut trees drop their nuts later in the season, into mid-October in Kansas.
Chinese vs Hybrid Chestnuts
I have frequently had customers be turned off by Chinese chestnuts. Many people have the view that Chinese chestnuts are inferior to the other chestnuts. They think that they want American chestnuts or hybrids. Chinese chestnut seedlings sell for less than named varieties or hybrid seedlings. But much of this is a lack of telling the “story”.
Why does everyone want Dunstan Chestnuts?
Many people call these American/Chinese chestnut hybrids “Dunstans”. But Dunstan (TM) chestnuts are a trademark of Chestnut Hill Nursery. They are the result of efforts over a generation ago of one lone surviving American chestnut seedling crossbred with Chinese chestnuts.
You frequently see chestnuts sold in the Spring and Fall on eBay listed as “Dunstans”. Technically they are not supposed to use that term.
You can get real Dunstans direct from Chestnut Hill Nursery or they ship to many stores (mostly Walmart stores) East of the Mississippi. Here is the store locator for their shipments and when they expect them to arrive. They have a few stores in Missouri and one store they ship to in Oklahoma. The trees shipped to Walmart are usually big trees in 2 and 3 gallon pots. They are expensive – $45-65.
I bought 2 Dunstans a few years ago from the Walmart in St. Joseph, MO and planted them in the pasture with a T-post fence/cage around them. They have not thrived, mainly because the horses (and especially the donkey) push down the fence and eat the branches in the Winter. In addition, they are grown and shipped from Florida. They do not seem to do well in Kansas.
Local Chinese and hybrid chestnuts seem to do much better.
Named Varieties of Chinese Chestnuts
A named variety, or a known-parent, is a tree or seedling that is chosen for it’s heavy production and larger nut sizes. That known (named) parent mother tree is open pollinated by the surrounding trees. It’s nuts are saved and grown into seedlings. This is a common way to grow and sell chestnuts, much more than grafting.
Some sites call these named varieties of Chinese chestnuts Half sibs.
Qing, Empire Elite, Gideon, Amy, Peach, and Resilient are examples of named varieties (known parent/Half sibs) of Chinese Chestnuts.
New Chestnut varieties that I am growing this year
This year I am growing several new varieties of chestnuts.
Named Chinese Chestnut varieties:
- Qing (pronounced “Ching”) is a named Chinese chestnut. The Qing chestnut seedlings were grown locally from seed that came from MO. Qing is a heavy producer, with large and extra large nuts. It reportedly bears early (in fewer years) and it has a late bud break, which can beat late frosts. Qing seedlings are frequently planted on commercial chestnut farms (converting corn/soy fields to chestnut acreages).
- I am also growing Resilient seedlings from Red Fern farm in Iowa. The Resilient is especially cold tolerant and may tolerate more wet soil, which is suited for a food forest site that I am designing and implementing.
Japanese/American hybrids seedlings that I bought from Twisted Tree Farm and will adapt to KS.
I am sprouting these varieties from seed:
- Empire Elite, a Chinese hybrid from Route 9 Cooperative in Ohio. Propagate Ag has planted over 100K Empire Elite on commercial chestnut farms.
- Eaton, which is a Chinese, American, and Japanese hybrid. The tree has Chinese chestnut characteristics. It is thought to be an open pollinated seedling of the famous ‘Sleeping Giant’.
- Gideon, which is a named Chinese chestnut, descended from Route 9 Cooperative. This will produce large to extra-large nuts that are high in quality and flavor. The source nuts that I am sprouting came from a grafted Gideon tree.
- Hope is a Chinese, American hybrid that is a sibling of “King Arthur”, a cultivar from the Connecticut Ag Experiment Station’s chestnut breeding program.
- Revival: a HUGE hybrid.
I am also sprouting Chinese chestnuts, as usual, from my local trees.
I also will plant two Colossal seedlings that I started from seed last year. Colossal is a European hybrid that has extremely large nuts. However, it is usually pollen sterile, so Colossal needs a pollinator. There is some concern with Colossal – you have to be careful mixing American and European hybrids with large nuts. Some varieties, like Colossal, may have Internal Nut Breakdown (internal nut rot) if pollinated by Chinese chestnuts.
Planting Chestnuts – soil and pH needs
Chestnuts need moderately acidic soil, somewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 pH. By comparison, 7 pH is considered neutral and “base”. Most garden vegetables require a pH between 6 and 7.
To get more acidic soil, add sulfur. For more alkaline soil, add garden lime.
Chestnuts need trace minerals like Boron, I have seen suggested that 1 tsp of borax, dissolved in water, poured on an 8×4 garden bed can help with this. I will experiment with adding boron this year.
Fertilizing Chestnut Trees
Many sites, including Michigan State University, say that you should not put fertilizer in the hole when planting chestnut trees. You want the chestnut to grow out into the soil seeking nutrients.
If you do fertilize, add some 10-10-10 fertilizer lightly to the top of the soil.
Foliar feeding (spraying the leaves, not adding to the soil) seems to be a good plan for fertilizing, especially during the first year. As we learned in the PDC, this is the best way to increase root size. If you fertilize the ground the plant or tree gets used to being spoon fed fertilizer and it will not reach out with it’s roots. Foliar feeding feeds the plant and promotes root growth and soil improvement as well.
Fertilizing is important in Year 2 onward, and especially important in Year 5 onward when it starts bearing nuts. Usually add fertilizer with nitrogen at 1 pound per 1″ diameter of the trunk. This seems like a lot. I am obviously not fertilizing at this level, but will kick it up a notch this year. I have two trees that are producing nuts and I will see if this improves the vigor and nut production.
Do not fertilize past July or it may cause the tree to keep growing new growth and leaves into the Fall instead of being prepared for sleep/dormancy. Using a timed fertilizer like Osmocote could also be a problem if the timed release causes it to go past the point where it needs to be storing up energy to go dormant.
Also, if you give too much nitrogen to a nut bearing chestnut after July it may keep putting on new growth instead of creating nuts.
Sprouting chestnuts from seed
For sprouting chestnut seedlings from seed, I first put them in a bucket of sand over the winter (click to see my process).
I transfer the chestnuts to tree pots as they start to sprout out nubs in the Spring. I put a layer of compost in the bottom of the pot, then regular soil above it and the chestnut (2 chestnuts per tree pot) into the soil.
These are the chestnuts grown out in the tree pots:
Good luck on your chestnut orchards!
Thriving Food Forest Design: Let us create an edible foodscape, perennial paradise for you so you can grow more food and be more self sufficient. Schedule a free consult session with me at:
Buy my chestnuts, hazelnuts, elderberry, and comfrey that are adapted to the Midwest.
GrowNutTrees.com
Raised beds that I am building to test Perennial Kitchen Garden layouts:
Vego Garden Modular Metal Raised Bed (which I will make 5′ x 3.5′, 17″ tall).
I use this for a perennial kitchen garden – growing herbs to use daily in the kitchen. Just come along and pick what you need for tonight’s dinner.
Meadow Creature Broadfork is my favorite tool for starting new garden beds. I turn over the sod, add a layer of compost, then Milpa, and cover with woodchips.
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