hunts_with_stick
5 year old buck +
Are Dunstan Chestnut trees worth it? I saw a local store had some for sale and was wondering if they are worth it for deer? Are they good to eat? Thanks!
Dunstan chestnuts
- Thread starter hunts_with_stick
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Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I've grown both Dunstan and Chinese. There is nothing wrong with Dunstans, but I don't think they are any better than run-of-the-mill Chinese. The Chinese can be bought for a lot less money, and Dunstans have a lot of Chinese genes themselves.
Both taste good to me, and both are a great draw for the deer. My chestnut trees have a drop range starting at about September 10th and mostly done by late October. There are one or two that might go into early November. Some folks advertise chestnuts that drop even into December, but I am yet to find anyone who will say they can verify that. If I felt strongly that they actually dropped that late, I would buy some.
For any chestnut to taste good, they have to dry for several days after they fall. As the moisture leaves the nuts they start developing a sweet taste that I just love. It's not unusual for me to consume 20 nuts at a time if I'm really hungry. You will also likely need to learn about chestnut weevils and how to deal with those if you plan on eating them.
Both taste good to me, and both are a great draw for the deer. My chestnut trees have a drop range starting at about September 10th and mostly done by late October. There are one or two that might go into early November. Some folks advertise chestnuts that drop even into December, but I am yet to find anyone who will say they can verify that. If I felt strongly that they actually dropped that late, I would buy some.
For any chestnut to taste good, they have to dry for several days after they fall. As the moisture leaves the nuts they start developing a sweet taste that I just love. It's not unusual for me to consume 20 nuts at a time if I'm really hungry. You will also likely need to learn about chestnut weevils and how to deal with those if you plan on eating them.
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hunts_with_stick
5 year old buck +
Thanks! I remember when I was younger my uncle would buy some and roast them. I thought they were OK. not great, not bad. I think a 3-4 year old was $40? They were about 6 - 6 1/2 feet
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Look at The Wildlife Group. I think you could buy about 10 Chinese for that price but they will be a lot smaller. However, you will have shipping cost, so if you could find Chinese locally you would be better off.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
One more thing - roasting them just ruins the taste for me. I don't like them that way at all. Raw, after a few days to sweeten is what I really like.
Dunstan's are not viewed as good eating chestnuts. Fine for wildlife and easy to purchase in pots, but nothing particularly special about them. They're 90%+ Chinese.
If you want to start trees from better nuts, I can point you to some sources. This is the time of year to buy seed nuts.
Deer will eat chestnuts. There pretty easy to grow. They generally tend to drop in late September and early October.
If you want to start trees from better nuts, I can point you to some sources. This is the time of year to buy seed nuts.
Deer will eat chestnuts. There pretty easy to grow. They generally tend to drop in late September and early October.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Love that you love chestnuts like @Native Hunter and me!
Hello, I'm RGrizzz and I have a problem
hunts_with_stick
5 year old buck +
I did just buy some northern pecans
Dunstans - despite claims to having American chestnut in their background, are mostly upwards of 90% Chinese, if not 100%. The Chinese chestnut varieties that were utliized in their initial development were just sort of mediocre to poor, from a human consumption desirability standpoint. But... Deer don't care.
I have two pair of Dunstan seedlings visible from the back porch. Deer have been virtually camped out underneath them for the past few weeks, eating nuts as soon as they hit the ground.
I have some good, named-parentage quality-eating type Chinese & hybrid chestnut seedlings (nuts from Buzz Ferver at Perfect Circle) to set out this fall, as well as a few 3/4 Americans.. Will probably plant them out in an opening in the CRP bufferstrip alongside the creek - in between the two pair of Dunstans. That way, if I decide I want to eat some chestnuts, I'll gather what I want from the good ones, and the deer can have whatever I don't gather.
Already have about 500 25 y.o. northern pecans planted in that 100-ft wide (7acre) bufferstrip running most of the length of the farm.
I have two pair of Dunstan seedlings visible from the back porch. Deer have been virtually camped out underneath them for the past few weeks, eating nuts as soon as they hit the ground.
I have some good, named-parentage quality-eating type Chinese & hybrid chestnut seedlings (nuts from Buzz Ferver at Perfect Circle) to set out this fall, as well as a few 3/4 Americans.. Will probably plant them out in an opening in the CRP bufferstrip alongside the creek - in between the two pair of Dunstans. That way, if I decide I want to eat some chestnuts, I'll gather what I want from the good ones, and the deer can have whatever I don't gather.
Already have about 500 25 y.o. northern pecans planted in that 100-ft wide (7acre) bufferstrip running most of the length of the farm.
sharing a little info ... more then one person has suggested/stated that Dunstan chestnut trees are "essentially" / or overwhelmingly Chinese chestnut trees with very little or almost no American chestnut influence. Balderdash or bunnygrunt ... however you wish to say it!
Straight from the horses mouth ... American Chestnut Foundation - https://patacf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dunstan-Article-by-Sara-F.pdf
Be sure to note the following quote from this article ... “Dunstan took the scion from the Carpentar American chestnut and top-grafted it to chestnut rootstock. Around that tree, Dunstan had planted the name Chinese chestnut cultivars Meiling, Nanking, and Kuling.6 These trees were allowed to open-pollinate and Dunstan reportedly took F1 progeny from the Carpentar tree, presumably after it was pollinated by one or more of those three Castanea mollissima cultivars."
"F1 trees were produced via open-pollination, the lineage of the offspring cannot be given as a percentage of its parents" (emphasis added). "Six of the resulting BC1 seedlings were further propagated" ...
Do you suppose you could guess which photo displays chestnuts off a Chinese chestnut tree and which photo displays chestnuts off a tree grown from a Dunstan chestnut from Chestnut Ridge of Pike County?
Literally all of the chestnuts we grow are from seeds ... either Dunstan or Colossal cultivars since they are not for human consumption; rather, they are an outstanding deer magnet. I can show you photos of where deer beat down woven wire fence, tore off lower limbs and pushed over steel T-posts in their attempts to garner the chestnuts.
Straight from the horses mouth ... American Chestnut Foundation - https://patacf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dunstan-Article-by-Sara-F.pdf
Be sure to note the following quote from this article ... “Dunstan took the scion from the Carpentar American chestnut and top-grafted it to chestnut rootstock. Around that tree, Dunstan had planted the name Chinese chestnut cultivars Meiling, Nanking, and Kuling.6 These trees were allowed to open-pollinate and Dunstan reportedly took F1 progeny from the Carpentar tree, presumably after it was pollinated by one or more of those three Castanea mollissima cultivars."
"F1 trees were produced via open-pollination, the lineage of the offspring cannot be given as a percentage of its parents" (emphasis added). "Six of the resulting BC1 seedlings were further propagated" ...
Do you suppose you could guess which photo displays chestnuts off a Chinese chestnut tree and which photo displays chestnuts off a tree grown from a Dunstan chestnut from Chestnut Ridge of Pike County?
Literally all of the chestnuts we grow are from seeds ... either Dunstan or Colossal cultivars since they are not for human consumption; rather, they are an outstanding deer magnet. I can show you photos of where deer beat down woven wire fence, tore off lower limbs and pushed over steel T-posts in their attempts to garner the chestnuts.
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hunts_with_stick
5 year old buck +
Wow, really. How long to produce? Maybe I should pick one up
Yeah, yeah. We've all heard Dr. Dunstan's story. He created some alleged F1s by open-pollenation crossing a grafted American to 3 grafted Chinese, then back-crossed those F1s to the same three Chinese varieties. Then they started open-pollenation crossing between subsequent generations of seedlings which may or may not have really even had any American germplasm whatsoever in their makeup. Among today's 'Dunstan' chestnuts, few, if any exhibit any American traits. It's so far in the past, that we don't really even know that the 'Carpentar' "American" chestnut, which Dunstan used, was even a pure American. Chances are pretty good - since it was not blight-affected while Americans surrounding it had died... that it was a hybrid.
Most people have never seen a pure American chestnut. The nuts are SMALL. If you have a 'Dunstan' producing large nuts, it's because it's mostly Chinese.
And... like I said, deer don't care or cull. They are currently hammering the Dunstan nuts from the trees I can see from my back porch, and it looks like a hog lot underneath the grafted 'McDaniel' BurEnglish oaks in my front yard.
Most people have never seen a pure American chestnut. The nuts are SMALL. If you have a 'Dunstan' producing large nuts, it's because it's mostly Chinese.
And... like I said, deer don't care or cull. They are currently hammering the Dunstan nuts from the trees I can see from my back porch, and it looks like a hog lot underneath the grafted 'McDaniel' BurEnglish oaks in my front yard.
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Where did you get that tree? I was just looking at trying to buy acorns from a grafted tree. Any chance you can share some?
RE Dunstan's, the Northern Nut Growers association DNA tested some of the earlier known Dunstan cultivars. Results below. What's you're buying as open pollinated Dunstan's likely isn't any of these named trees.
Here are the 2020 DNA results that were dsitributed at the CGA meeting. These are from Jeanne R-S.
Dunstan Heritage is about 20% European and 80% Chinese.
Dunstan Revival is less than 5% dentata and 95% Chinese.
Dunstan Wilamette is 5% or less crenata and at least 95% Chinese.
I haven't seen the other Dunstans tested but they are the most normal looking Chinese trees with no indication of extra vigor or upright growth so they are most likely 100% Chinese.
You should be aware that anything that is 10% or less might not be accurate.
Here are the 2020 DNA results that were dsitributed at the CGA meeting. These are from Jeanne R-S.
Dunstan Heritage is about 20% European and 80% Chinese.
Dunstan Revival is less than 5% dentata and 95% Chinese.
Dunstan Wilamette is 5% or less crenata and at least 95% Chinese.
I haven't seen the other Dunstans tested but they are the most normal looking Chinese trees with no indication of extra vigor or upright growth so they are most likely 100% Chinese.
You should be aware that anything that is 10% or less might not be accurate.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
I have planted bare root/potted/grown my own in pots/direct seeded. Chinese seem to grow better for me in our heavy clay.
I think all chestnuts like sandier soil, and full sun if possible. I've got Chinese and Dunstan’s, the differences I've noticed are Chinese seem easier to grow/better DR/cheaper/heavier fruit load/earlier drop times...during dry summer will still make two to three nuts per burr just smaller. Dunstan’s can't take wet feet at all/seem to die back then regrow when young/are more expensive/two week later drop time...during dry summer only produce one to two nuts per burr.
Both are awesome, any chestnut is...it is better to have some growing on your farm than not. Very interesting and historical addition to any property.
No disrespect at all to Native...my preference is roasted chestnuts...I soak mine in water for a few hours before roasting slit them and cook on 400 for ten-fifteen minutes and they are fantastic! I am going to try the pan roasted this fall with just a touch of butter for kicks.
