Chestnut orchard / plot question

[Yarg]

I planted several Chinese Chestnut 1 year old seedlings in a 20 x 20 grid orchard planting I'm going to add some two-year-old dunston's to it do I keep them at the 20 by 20 spacing thanks

 

[Smokegobbler]

Chestnut Hills suggests 30' to 40' spacing for ideal nut production. I don't think there is much size difference between mature Chinese and Dunstan's. You could keep the same 20' spacing, but may lose some production down the road.

 

[bigbendmarine]

20' seems really close for the Chinese. Unless I'm missing something that will have your trees reaching one another when each tree has branches spreading out 10' towards one another. I've got 4 year old trees about that big now. Found this on one site via google... "Chinese chestnut trees naturally form wide spreading crowns that grow to a height of 35 to 40 feet. Spacing your trees at least 40 to 50 feet apart will allow ample room for tree growth and allow easy access to all sides of the tree at harvest time." I've got 14 or so planted and spaced mine at 45'.

 

[yoderjac]

I planted several Chinese Chestnut 1 year old seedlings in a 20 x 20 grid orchard planting I'm going to add some two-year-old dunston's to it do I keep them at the 20 by 20 spacing thanks

It depends on you objectives. One technique is to plant trees at a spacing where they will not compete for resources when fully mature. The two posts above are using that approach. Another approach that some orchards take with chestnuts is the one I'm using. Unlike many fruit trees, chestnuts (any variety) are primarily wind pollinated (verses insect pollinated trees). Planting trees with close spacing increases nut production when trees are young. The problem, of course, is that at full maturity, crowns interfere and the trees compete for resources reducing production. These orchards, use close spacing when they plant. Then, when trees near maturity and begin to interfere with each other, they will cull trees. When two trees are interfering, they will keep the better producing tree and cull the other.

I'm taking a similar approach with my wildlife trees. Since I'm growing chestnuts from seed (most Dunstans are now trade-name- only Dunstans grown from seed) and putting them in a low-care wildlife setting, while some trees will thrive, others will struggle or even die after several years. So, nature will cull many of my trees before they hit maturity. If necessary, when they hit maturity, I don't mind having the problem of having to cull trees.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Yarg]

It depends on you objectives. One technique is to plant trees at a spacing where they will not compete for resources when fully mature. The two posts above are using that approach. Another approach that some orchards take with chestnuts is the one I'm using. Unlike many fruit trees, chestnuts (any variety) are primarily wind pollinated (verses insect pollinated trees). Planting trees with close spacing increases nut production when trees are young. The problem, of course, is that at full maturity, crowns interfere and the trees compete for resources reducing production. These orchards, use close spacing when they plant. Then, when trees near maturity and begin to interfere with each other, they will cull trees. When two trees are interfering, they will keep the better producing tree and cull the other.

I'm taking a similar approach with my wildlife trees. Since I'm growing chestnuts from seed (most Dunstans are now trade-name- only Dunstans grown from seed) and putting them in a low-care wildlife setting, while some trees will thrive, others will struggle or even die after several years. So, nature will cull many of my trees before they hit maturity. If necessary, when they hit maturity, I don't mind having the problem of having to cull trees.

Thanks,

Jack

Thanks Jack what spacing do you personally use and do you plant them in rows for Ease of mowing, I initially started offsetting them in rows but then decided to line them up

 

[yoderjac]

My spacing turns out to be around 20'. I'm using 3 gal RB2 containers and planting from them. I use a tractor auger that is very close to the diameter of the RB2s. I have heavy clay soil but use a very chunky mix in the RB2s. This creates a water infiltration problem. During times of ample rain, the light mix creates a "pond" in heavy clay and drowns the tree. During dry spells, the light mix dries out much faster than the clay and that can kill the trees. So, my solution has been to auger a very deep hole and back fill it with quarry stone and then plant the tree. During times of ample rain, the "pond" forms well below the root ball so the chestnut is safe. Because the diameter of the auger is so close to the hole size, the lateral roots grow into the clay quickly. By summer time when things can get dry here, the roots are well into the native clay that retains moisture.

So, back to your question. When I plant, I auger a hole and back up until my loader full of quarry stone is right in front of the hole. I then shovel the stone into the hole and plant the tree. I then auger the next hole, back up, and repeat the process. It turns out that technique puts my trees about 20' apart. Most of my chestnuts are planted along roadways and along the perimeter of fields rather than in an orchard formation.

My apple trees, on the other hand, are planted in rows. I line them up as well for easier mowing. I too found that offsetting the rows didn't add anything and just made mowing harder.

Thanks,

jack

 

[TreeDaddy]

Jack,

Is the tree root system placed directly on top of quarry stone?

thanks,

bill

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,

Is the tree root system placed directly on top of quarry stone?

thanks,

bill

Pretty much. A little native clay falls on top of the stone so the roots at the bottom of the RB2 are not directly on the stone but it is not something I worry about. This is not a general planting technique. It is a specialized technique I developed for Rootmaker trees that don't like wet feet (like chestnuts) that are planted in heavy clay soil. When planting bare root trees, I don't amend the soil. The problem with planting rootmaker trees in heavy clay is that they grow the best when the medium in the containers is very porous with lots of water infiltration. It is this difference in infiltration that causes a problem.

To be more clear on the technique, the first step is to select a site to auger the hole where ground water will not drain into the hole. The only water that should get into the hole is from the rain directly hitting the medium. After going through the steps described above drilling the hole, I use a hand rake (depending on soil conditions) to rough the sides of the hole if they have any glazing. The root ball, after unwrapping the RB2, should be a tight fit in the hole. I often have to get the first couple inches into the hole and then stand on the root ball with one foot on each side of the tree to jam it in. The final step is to take native clay and mound it up around the tree covering the medium. Again, this ensures water won't drain into the hole.

If I don't do this, chestnuts will often drown in the spring when we get heavy rain or die from lack of water in the dry summer. With this approach, the high infiltration "pond" occurs below the roots and allows them to grow into it as they see fit. Keep in mind that a tree's root system is kind of a reflection of the top, except with a Rootmaker tree, there is no tap root. So, the small amount of area taken up by the quarry stone is insignificant compared to the final root system. The tight fit of the root ball ensures the lateral roots will grow into the clay quickly. By the time our generally wet springs are over and our dry summers arrive, the lateral roots are well into the native clay that retains moisture well.

Again, I would not recommend this technique in general. It works well in my climate with my heavy clay. I don't use the quarry stone will all trees. Some don't seem to have an issue with the root system getting saturated like chestnuts.

Thanks,

Jack