Mostly successful direct seeded chestnuts

[chickenlittle]

We direct seeded 45 sites with chestnuts a few weeks before last frost, mid/late April. 2 germinated nuts in each, protected with a can and plastic mesh tube. Luckily there wasn't any top growth yet when my nephew stubbornly sprayed herbicide right next to them despite clear instructions. 2 weeks ago, every one looked good and some were at the top of the 18" mesh tube. It was time to remove the nuts and put on 4ft tubes.

But I ran out of time. Then wife had other plans for me last weekend. Then my dad says that something was getting into them. Darn it.

I had today off so I planned to tube whatever was left. Like the picture shows, squirrels were chewing the plastic mesh at the top of the cans, chewing off trees and getting the nuts. Some trees were eaten off down to the ground. I removed all remaining nuts and tubed. Only a handful were untouched yet. Maybe half had one of the seedlings intact. Good chance the rest might still leaf out. Hopefully the squirrels won't be a further problem but I put out a live trap with some of the removed nuts to maybe get the worst offenders.

Just wish I had done it 2 weeks ago before the squirrels started on them.

 

[Bill]

Seems no matter what we do Mother Nature fights us.
I guess that's the name of the game. To bad that one looked like it was doing well.

Next time put some rat nip next to them :D

 

[chickenlittle]

A month later, we only lost 3 trees to the squirrels. Some that weren't bothered by the squirrels are about 3 ft tall with one at just over 40" tall. Some of the chestnuts started last year have popped out the top of their 48" tubes. We have provided supplemental water a few times this year and last in the drier stretches. Got 2.5” in yesterday's storms so no extra water needed for a bit.

 

[chickenlittle]

Here is a photo of my tallest direct seeded tree taken last weekend. 40" tall in a 54" tube, you can just make out the shadow of the leaves. You can see another row in the background. Spaced about 6-8 ft apart on strips if 3ft wide lumite. I'll thin as they start production and I will keep later dropping ones. A few more than 60 trees in 4 rows. I'll probably do another direct seeded strip next year.

 

[Redonthehead]

I have been very pleased with my direct seeded dunstans. I have 3 year olds 6-7 foot tall, with one at 10+ foot. I planted seeds with radicals showing in February into short tubes of aluminum flashing, covered with a clear plastic cup. After they sprouted I put a 5 foot tube over them. If I did it again I would skip the short tube and just use a 5 foot tube sunk 3 inches into the ground. You must make a determined effort to protect the nut.

 

[chickenlittle]

The only reason I did not go straight to the tall tube is so I could easily remove the nut and i did 2 nuts per can. Planting with the radicle started, I think I got every nut to grow so the 2 nuts wasn't necessary.

 

[Shedder]

https://goo.gl/tE3Wg0

https://oak.ppws.vt.edu/~griffin/accf.html

http://www.accf-online.org/


I direct seeded 150 American Chestnut from the American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation, last fall. I planted them last fall in a new clearcut. I didn't expect much Sunday since some 100 white, bur, shumard , chinkapin, red, black, swamp white oaks I planted are being hammered by voles. I started looking at the ACCF sites and was astonished that 90% were likely up. Why they are doing so well vs the oaks is opposite to what I expected. I don't expect it to last though. Voles and winter will likely get them yet.

https://goo.gl/photos/Zb3ZTDNKqaeG619A6

Pix of them. Some are small some are big.

https://goo.gl/photos/wkmgkg9mwUQGJV9y6

Prior non ACCF chestnuts.

https://goo.gl/PLkzuj

Clearest ACCF chestnut pic.

I was surprised that they look very different than other "Am Chestnuts" I have planted. The leaves were thin like tissue, the stalks were thin, and the color was dull compared to my others. Since ACCF seed is true American I wonder if the others are not.

It is hard to see the difference in the pix but any idea if this is a sign of hybrids in the non ACCFseed?

Is there a large amount of variability in chestnut seedling leaves?

 

[Neahawg]

Sounds like your accf chestnuts ate true American chestnuts and the others were a hybrid

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Shedder, It's amazing that you have that many up and growing! The squirrels, voles, and assorted varmits eat everything I plant with no protection, makes me wonder how we ever got a tree around here to begin with. Here is a pic of my ACCF chestnuts so you can see h,ow mine compare. The leaves change quite a bit as they get older.

 

[Shedder]

That 2nd pic looks like an oak?

 

[Merle Hawggard]

That 2nd pic looks like an oak?

Lol, sorry Shedder, old eyes. I thought I had a pic of my big tree on my Kendal. If you go to my land tour my son posted a pic of it there. I planted it in 2010 and its the only one I've had make it to this size.

 

[Neahawg]

 

[Shedder]

How old is this ACCF AC?

 

[Neahawg]

This is its 7th year.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Looks like success to me!
The more I fool with these trees I think direct seeding is the way to go. I should have a good handful of nuts from my 4th leaf chestnuts this yr. I plan to direct seed them in some woodland clearings. Keep us posted on how they do

 

[H20fwler]

Great thread.

 

[chickenlittle]

That 2nd pic looks like an oak?

Reminds me of a NY Nutgrower Assoc. land tour a couple years ago. We were there to see his new Dunstan chestnut orchard and the guy shows a huge Chinese chestnut that never produced nuts. Then he shows the tree he planted to pollinated it, now 20ft tall tree but still no nuts. That 2nd tree didn't look right...looking closer...it was a sawtooth oak.

 

[Shedder]

https://goo.gl/photos/g4am32nHv6cypfo78

Am chestnut loves to put on top growth vs root growth on oaks.

Many of these are in a 2nd flush despite drought.

Some here remove the nuts off seedlings.

I don't have that option so when will the nut be consumed enough that varmints will not be attracted?

 

[Shedder]

This is its 7th year.

Wow, I doubt I will see that at 45 North.

 

[chickenlittle]

Update on my 45 trees i direct seeded. I had 4 or 5 die and I replaced 3 of those in June with the few runtiest ones I started indoors (I gave the better ones away). Most all that the squirrels messed with holding on at a foot or two tall. Ones that weren't messed with have done well with 4 or 5 out of the 54" tube and another 8 or 10 that might still get that tall by the end of the season. Trees are about 3/8" diameter at the base.

I'll direct seed some replacements next spring for my open spots. I don't think I'll plant any more for now.