Dunstan Chestnuts...

[tynimiller]

Need nursery recommendations any of you have had good experiences with? The nursery I'm grabbing apple/pears from doesn't dabble in much outside fruit trees so going to look elsewhere.

Any direction or thoughts appreciated.

 

[j-bird]

I get mine thru big box retailers......rural king and wal-mart. I think they are Chestnut Hill Nursery - as the "Dunstan" Chestnut I think it a trade name....not sure about that part. I see them for sale in 3 gallon container trees in the spring for like $30 here. I tend to be too cheap and wait for them to go on sale and buy them then at a much discounted price. I water them as needed the first year and they have done well thus far. No nuts yet, but they seem to be growing and healthy. Only issue I have ever had was I had one drown - my fault. I cage and plant mine just like a fruit tree.

 

[chickenlittle]

Yes, Dunstan is the Chestnut Hill brand name for their line of Chinese hybrid chestnuts. They usually have a list of retailers on their website but maybe not until they start shipping. http://www.chestnuthilloutdoors.com.

Other Chinese chestnuts and hybrids seedlings are available from other sources at lower cost.

 

[tynimiller]

I get mine thru big box retailers......rural king and wal-mart. I think they are Chestnut Hill Nursery - as the "Dunstan" Chestnut I think it a trade name....not sure about that part. I see them for sale in 3 gallon container trees in the spring for like $30 here. I tend to be too cheap and wait for them to go on sale and buy them then at a much discounted price. I water them as needed the first year and they have done well thus far. No nuts yet, but they seem to be growing and healthy. Only issue I have ever had was I had one drown - my fault. I cage and plant mine just like a fruit tree.

I just was reading on their site and now your the 3rd person (cross posted on a FB group) about this and they said they deliver their trees to the box retails as well. Guess I'll be grabbing some from them! Thanks

 

[tynimiller]

Yes, Dunstan is the Chestnut Hill brand name for their line of Chinese hybrid chestnuts. They usually have a list of retailers on their website but maybe not until they start shipping. http://www.chestnuthilloutdoors.com.

Other Chinese chestnuts and hybrids seedlings are available from other sources at lower cost.

Any recommended spots you have liked for the other varieties?

 

[yoderjac]

Dunstan was originally a cross between American and Chinese. As chickenlittle points out, it is also a trade name of Chestnut hill. Most of the trees they sell now are grown from seed from the originally grafted Dunstan trees. They have done a tremendous job marketing to the hunting community. Dunstan chestnuts have some great characteristics, but they are over-hyped in the hunting community and thus you pay a premium for them. There are lots of other Chinese chestnuts to consider. The wildlife group sells some patented AU Buck III and IV. They are fully Chinese but also have some interesting characteristics. The AU Buck III are supposed drop from late September through mid October and the IVs are supposed to drop from October well into November. Most other chestnuts drop in September.

I do like some of the characteristics that Dunstan chestnuts offer but didn't want to pay the premium, so I started growing my own from nuts. That has worked out pretty well so far. I wouldn't do it for just a few, but for high volumes, the setup cost amortizes pretty quickly.

In most cases, you will still get a lot of wildlife value out of any old Chinese chestnut that is not a named variety.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[tynimiller]

Dunstan was originally a cross between American and Chinese. As chickenlittle points out, it is also a trade name of Chestnut hill. Most of the trees they sell now are grown from seed from the originally grafted Dunstan trees. They have done a tremendous job marketing to the hunting community. Dunstan chestnuts have some great characteristics, but they are over-hyped in the hunting community and thus you pay a premium for them. There are lots of other Chinese chestnuts to consider. The wildlife group sells some patented AU Buck III and IV. They are fully Chinese but also have some interesting characteristics. The AU Buck III are supposed drop from late September through mid October and the IVs are supposed to drop from October well into November. Most other chestnuts drop in September.

I do like some of the characteristics that Dunstan chestnuts offer but didn't want to pay the premium, so I started growing my own from nuts. That has worked out pretty well so far. I wouldn't do it for just a few, but for high volumes, the setup cost amortizes pretty quickly.

In most cases, you will still get a lot of wildlife value out of any old Chinese chestnut that is not a named variety.

Thanks,

Jack

Yeah a buddy of mine is sending me a dozen or so chestnuts to start some from seed this year for just shipping cost. Meantime probably buy a couple different varieties of chestnuts to get more variety and eventually have producers I can grab chestnuts from to grow em more and more.

 

[yoderjac]

Yeah a buddy of mine is sending me a dozen or so chestnuts to start some from seed this year for just shipping cost. Meantime probably buy a couple different varieties of chestnuts to get more variety and eventually have producers I can grab chestnuts from to grow em more and more.

I bought some of the AU Buck III and IV. There is a thread with more details on them, but they actually produced a few nuts while on my deck the first season I had them in RB2s. I decided to keep them on my deck for a second season and got more nuts. I now have nuts that are crosses between them growing under lights. My Dunstan trees in the field are quite a few years old now and have not produced. That is the difference between a grafted tree and a seedling.

I just ordered some scions from England's orchard in KY. I included some AU Super scions (an older variety developed by AU) in my order. I plan to graft them to some of my Dunstans in the field to see if I can get quicker production from some of my trees. I have a thread on grafting chestnuts describing that on here as well if you want more details.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[H20fwler]

I have twenty Dunstan's planted that are 7'-9' tall now that I bought through Rural King potted, I've bought spring and fall. I cage and wrap just like fruit trees too, mine have done very well.
Another good source for hybrid chestnuts is Empire Chestnuts http://www.empirechestnut.com/catalog.htm

 

[tynimiller]

I have twenty Dunstan's planted that are 7'-9' tall now that I bought through Rural King potted, I've bought spring and fall. I cage and wrap just like fruit trees too, mine have done very well.
Another good source for hybrid chestnuts is Empire Chestnuts http://www.empirechestnut.com/catalog.htm

How old would that put your twenty at then H20? 3 year olds? Any chestnuts forming yet albeit probably few?

 

[H20fwler]

How old would that put your twenty at then H20? 3 year olds? Any chestnuts forming yet albeit probably few?

I would say they are probably three year old trees, I didn't get any nuts last fall but did have a few form catkins last spring. I am hoping to get some nuts this coming fall from them.

 

[tynimiller]

I would say they are probably three year old trees, I didn't get any nuts last fall but did have a few form catkins last spring. I am hoping to get some nuts this coming fall from them.

That's great, I would be shocked if you don't get a small handful since a few formed catkins last year. Good deal! Have you done any kind of fertilizing or ground killing or mulching around them? I plan on fencing or at minimum tubing/caging them to protect from rubbing or chewing...but curious as to what has worked for others well in the fert or dripline in things.

 

[H20fwler]

That's great, I would be shocked if you don't get a small handful since a few formed catkins last year. Good deal! Have you done any kind of fertilizing or ground killing or mulching around them? I plan on fencing or at minimum tubing/caging them to protect from rubbing or chewing...but curious as to what has worked for others well in the fert or dripline in things.

I haven't fertilized at all, I planted them staggered in two rows 25'-30' apart. I used 5' concrete remesh to cage them and wrapped the trunks with 3' aluminum screen, I also mulched with one bag around each tree to keep weeds down and moisture in keeping the mulch about 3" deep and a few inches away from the trunk. I don't have much of a problem with mice or voles in my area. The deer will nip off anything that sticks out of remesh leaves/branches so the cages need to be big enough.
I hope I get some nuts this fall, my plan is to save them all the first couple years to start new trees to plant at the farms and to give to friends.

 

[tynimiller]

Actually just amended my order with Stark Bro's to include their Chinese Chestnut offerings. 3 of them for $8.99 a piece...not a terrible price and getting free shipping due to order being large enough. Will look local too this spring for offerings as well.

Got a dozen nuts coming from a buddy too that I'll attempt to grow from seed too.

 

[H20fwler]

TSC here locally sells seedling potted Chinese chestnuts in the spring for around $6 that are about a foot tall.
wpddeeer on here is doing an excellent project sending chestnuts out in the fall for guys to grow.

 

[tynimiller]

TSC here locally sells seedling potted Chinese chestnuts in the spring for around $6 that are about a foot tall.
wpddeeer on here is doing an excellent project sending chestnuts out in the fall for guys to grow.

Yup gonna still keep eyes out. Pops had me bump order from Stark to 9 total as they should be 2-3 foot. We shall see. If true $8.99 ain't a terrible price with a replacement guarantee within a year.

 

[Redonthehead]

I had good survival and growth with an order of 100 bareroot Chinese chestnut seedlings from the Virginia DOF. I see this year they are $115 per hundred. So $1.15 each plus shipping. They were 18-24" tall, and a reasonable option you might want to consider.
http://dof.virginia.gov/infopubs/Seedling-Price-Guide-2016-2017_pub.pdf
However I have a preference for my direct seeded Dunstans, I think they are growing faster.

 

[tynimiller]

I had good survival and growth with an order of 100 bareroot Chinese chestnut seedlings from the Virginia DOF. I see this year they are $115 per hundred. So $1.15 each plus shipping. They were 18-24" tall, and a reasonable option you might want to consider.
http://dof.virginia.gov/infopubs/Seedling-Price-Guide-2016-2017_pub.pdf
However I have a preference for my direct seeded Dunstans, I think they are growing faster.

That is a great price. I just this year don't want to commit the brunt of my tree budget (gotta try to stick) to chestnuts. Fruit trees this year and will attempt to start from seeds more chestnuts than the 9 we ordered. Not too mention gonna keep close eye on box stores that have potted ones go on sale.

 

[yoderjac]

I would say they are probably three year old trees, I didn't get any nuts last fall but did have a few form catkins last spring. I am hoping to get some nuts this coming fall from them.

Just to provide some comparison, I've been able to grow Dunstans from nuts that are over 6' tall and 3/4" in caliper in the first growing season. Details with pictures are in this thread: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...th-rootmakers-transfered-from-old-forum.5556/

On the down side, they slow down quickly in my heavy clay. I now have trees over 5 years old that have not produced nuts yet. That is why I'm now looking at grafting some of them.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[tynimiller]

Just to provide some comparison, I've been able to grow Dunstans from nuts that are over 6' tall and 3/4" in caliper in the first growing season. Details with pictures are in this thread: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...th-rootmakers-transfered-from-old-forum.5556/

On the down side, they slow down quickly in my heavy clay. I now have trees over 5 years old that have not produced nuts yet. That is why I'm now looking at grafting some of them.

Thanks,

Jack

Holy Moses! That is a ton of growth in just 1 year! As for the grafting aspect have you started dabbline in getting rootstock to graft onto? If so any recommendations from where?