Pricing on Dunstan seedling?

[roymunson]

Local classified ad has 12-15” seedling that were “air pruned” for $15 each.
He started them from seeds from his own stock.

How do these work as an “edge tree” at my house? We’re in the country and have some deer passing thru, but I’d want them as a long game privacy fence kind of deal. That and I’ll obviously plant the “ultimate food plot” tree at the hunting land too

 

[roymunson]

By privacy fence I mean in case the guy next door builds a house staring into my back yard

 

[homerj]

A buck an inch or more seems kind of high priced to me

 

[Spur]

I wouldn’t recommend the Dunstan as a “privacy fence.” They are much like an oak when they are full grown, but the leaves hang on much longer than an oak. I even have some Dunstans that hangs onto the leaves until the spring.

Btw - $15 is expensive!

 

[roymunson]

Ok. That’s why I asked. Had oaks at my other place and didn’t like the mess (at the house)

Also just made the mistake of reading into the “tubes vs cage” arguments.

 

[Cap'n]

Walmart had Chestnut Hill Dunstans for $30.00 in 3 gal pots. This spring you can get on their website and find the WM nearest you. They were between 5-6 ft. tall. I waited until they went on sale. I can't remember exactly but I think they went down to $22 and then, after WM almost let them die they were @$7.00.
12-15" trees probably will have a better chance to survive though.

 

[yoderjac]

I start my own Dunstans in air pruning containers. When my dunstan's are 15" tall, they have a very tiny root system and unless you give them lots of supplemental care, they are not field ready. If I properly air prune and plant them after they fill a 1 gal RB2, they generally survive without after care but don't thrive. If I transplant them a second time into a 3 gal RB2, I can get 6' tall trees by the end of the first growing season and they thrive after that.

I know you are not interested in growing them yourself from seed, but this thread should give you a feel for size just by scanning through and looking at the pictures: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...h-rootmakers-transfered-from-qdma-forum.5556/

Also, keep in mind that height alone is not a good measure of tree quality. A combination of height, caliper, and leaf mass is a much better gauge.

I also concur that Dunstan's are not a good fit for a privacy fence.

One more note on Dunstan: It was originally the name of a patented crossed American/Chinese variety and all "Dunstan's" were grafted. "Dunstan" is also a trade name of Chestnut hill. Most of the trees called Dunstan today are not the grafted clone of the original, but produce from seed. In this context it refers to the trade name of Chestnut Hill.

For a while we heard Chestnut Hill was sending out cease and desist letters to folks selling trees using the name Dunstan. It is probably hard to deal with the little guys as it is like playing whack-a-mole.

Unlike apples and many other trees, Chestnuts are much "truer to seed". That simply means that most of the characteristics we care about are generally preserved even with sexual reproduction. Keep in mind that clonal chestnut trees can not pollenate each other (same clone), so there is some DNA from the male parent.

In general, when I'm referring to Dunstan Chestnuts that I grow in this forum, they are really sons of Dunstans. I purchase nuts from a chestnut orchard that was established with grafted Dunstan trees.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[roymunson]

Slid past RKO today and checked them out. they had 3 gallon trees that were about 5-6' tall for $30. Seemed like a lot better than 15" trees for $15

 

[H20fwler]

I think the Chinese chestnuts are more forgiving and easier to grow than Dunstan's. A good source for nice bare root trees is Empire Chestnut right in Ohio, http://www.empirechestnut.com/catalog.htm

A good source for what I believe are Dunstan hybrids is Chestnut Ridge of Pike county https://chestnutridgeofpikecounty.com/ they are a good source for nuts to stratify if Dunstan is what you are looking for.

I've put in twenty plus of the potted Chestnut Hill Dunstan's from Rural King and have had a little better than 50/50 success with them compared to Chinese that is like 90% success rate in my soil. Once any of them get over ten feet you should be in business and they should be harder to kill.


For a privacy fence you may look into a good arborvitae like a white cedar or Emerald Giant or similar conifers.

 

[yoderjac]

I think the Chinese chestnuts are more forgiving and easier to grow than Dunstan's. A good source for nice bare root trees is Empire Chestnut right in Ohio, http://www.empirechestnut.com/catalog.htm

A good source for what I believe are Dunstan hybrids is Chestnut Ridge of Pike county https://chestnutridgeofpikecounty.com/ they are a good source for nuts to stratify if Dunstan is what you are looking for.

I've put in twenty plus of the potted Chestnut Hill Dunstan's from Rural King and have had a little better than 50/50 success with them compared to Chinese that is like 90% success rate in my soil. Once any of them get over ten feet you should be in business and they should be harder to kill.


For a privacy fence you may look into a good arborvitae like a white cedar or Emerald Giant or similar conifers.

I don't know about Chinese being easier to grow than Dunstan's, but if you are buying trees, they are generally less expensive. All the hype around Dunstan chestnuts in the hunting community has driven the price up. One characteristic I like about Dunstan over most Chinese I've seen is that the nut seems to fall from the burr rather than the burr falling with the nut inside.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[H20fwler]

I don't know about Chinese being easier to grow than Dunstan's, but if you are buying trees, they are generally less expensive. All the hype around Dunstan chestnuts in the hunting community has driven the price up. One characteristic I like about Dunstan over most Chinese I've seen is that the nut seems to fall from the burr rather than the burr falling with the nut inside.

Thanks,

Jack

I agree, but I can also only speak from my experience here with growing both types and stand by my statement of the Chinese being easier to grow for me. I have definitely tried to love the hell out of my Dunstan's but they just don't love me back, my days of paying $30+ for them potted are over. I will keep on collecting nuts off mine stratifying and spring direct seeding though...same as I do with my Chinese. Chestnuts are a great tree to plant and a good benefit to a lot of different varieties of wildlife and I like eating them too.

If I was looking to purchase and plant a six foot started tree it just wouldn't be a Dunstan the risk/reward does not match up for me like it has with the Chinese trees.

 

[yoderjac]

I agree, but I can also only speak from my experience here with growing both types and stand by my statement of the Chinese being easier to grow for me. I have definitely tried to love the hell out of my Dunstan's but they just don't love me back, my days of paying $30+ for them potted are over. I will keep on collecting nuts off mine stratifying and spring direct seeding though...same as I do with my Chinese. Chestnuts are a great tree to plant and a good benefit to a lot of different varieties of wildlife and I like eating them too.

If I was looking to purchase and plant a six foot started tree it just wouldn't be a Dunstan the risk/reward does not match up for me like it has with the Chinese trees.

I don't doubt you one bit. Different soil, different climate, and so on. I completely agree with you. While Dunstans have some nice characteristics for deer, they are far from head and shoulders above the alternatives. The only reason they made sense for me is because the cost is pretty much the same when you grow them yourself. If I was buying trees, given the pricing, I would opt for Chinese over Dunstan as well.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Yarg]

Is the Chinese Chestnut "castanea mollissima" that you find for < dollar/ 18"seedling a good tree? Does anyone here have any experience with them? Im in zone 5 .. thanks

 

[yoderjac]

Is the Chinese Chestnut "castanea mollissima" that you find for < dollar/ 18"seedling a good tree? Does anyone here have any experience with them? Im in zone 5 .. thanks

I can't speak to your zone, but all of the castanea species seem to be good for wildlife use. They all have different characteristics, but Chinese chestnuts are generally less expensive than Dunstan's simply because of the hype in the hunting community and the effective marketing.

Dunstan's have a few traits I like. They are a cross between American and Chinese. Chinese seem to be a shorter more spreading tree and American tend to be more of a timber tree. We lost the American chestnut as a predominant species in eastern forests because of the blight. Chinese and the Dunstan cross are resistant to the blight.

I grow mine from seed, so the cost is the same for me whether I grow Dunstans or Chinese. There are a couple characteristics of Dunstans I like, but nothing that makes them head and shoulders above Chinese. The nuts tend to fall out of the spiny husks to the ground making them more accessible to deer and other wildlife. Chinese tend to fall while still in the husk and then it breaks open eventually on the ground. Some dunstan seedling seem to take more of the Chinese form with early branching and others take more of the American form and are taller before they branch.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Chinese. I'm in zone 7a. Folks from your zone should chime in on how well they do in your climate.

Thanks,

jack