American Chestnut Ordered

[bugdust]

A nursery in WV has American Chestnut seedings for sale. I went and purchased 50 and plan to set them out when received (around Thanksgiving.) Is there any particular areas best to plan these seedlings? I have 135 acres of 75 years timber growth and want to plant in areas best suited for the chestnuts?

[Phorester]

Deep loamy soil, open to as much sunlight as possible, protect from animals.

[John Mc]

I've heard that if Oak does well on a site, American Chestnut will as well.  I'd be interested if folks here feel that is an accurate statement.

BTW, bugdust, Are the seedlings blight resistant?  If not, odds are they will not survive.  The American Chestnut Foundation has a blight resistant strain they've developed, but I'm not aware that it's being sold commercially.  They also have a lot of information about American Chestnuts, if you are looking for pointers.  You can find them at www.acf.org

John

[Activgurl]

Last I heard from American Chestnut Foundation, they had crossbred the American variety, and had one for sale that was 7/8ths pure.

[John Mc]

I believe they're up to 15/16 pure now, and it seems to be blight resistant and still have good form.

[coalsmok]

Bugdust
If you dont mind telling, where did you order the chesnut trees from?  I would like to plant a few around the farm to give the deer something else to eat.

[ely]

will the chestnuts grow in oklahoma?

[WDH]

Historically, it did not range west of the Mississippi River, so the prospects are not that good. 

[clww]

Hopefully bugdust will reply, as I'd be interested in procuring some for our back 40 at the cabin. ;)
:new_year:

[SPIKER]

Try googling the American Chestnut foundation (here http://www.acf.org/ )

also google seedling sales for American Chestnuts (they are kind of expensive vs other trees however.)

order page from ACF  http://www.acf.org/seeds_seedlings.php


Mark

[bugdust]

Sorry guys it took so long getting this information back to those interested in ordering American Chestnuts. Google wvforestry. com/nursery.cfm. This site should take you to Clements State Tree Nursery. I have planted 50 seedlings averaging 12"-18". They were very healthy and well packed for shipping.

[Birchwood Logging]

Will they reseed there selfs and if so will the regrowth be blight resitant just curious here in the Appalachian mountains of ky they where a domnate species here and would like to reintroduce them back in this area 

[clww]

Thanks, bugdust, and you too, SPIKER!

[John Mc]

Will they reseed there selfs and if so will the regrowth be blight resitant just curious here in the Appalachian mountains of ky they where a domnate species here and would like to reintroduce them back in this area

If you to to the link Bugdust provided for the West Virginia Division of Forestry (wvforestry.com/nursery.cfm), almost halfway down the page you'll find the following:   "Our American chestnut seedlings show resistance to the blight, but they are not immune," said Nursery Superintendent Jason Huffman. "Our hope is to one day breed seedlings that are totally resistant to chestnut blight."   I downloaded the order form, but it says they are sold out of American Chestnut.

It would be interesting to know how the blight resistance of their trees compares to that of the American Chestnut Foundation (www.acf.org). ACF had been at their breeding program for about 30 years now, but their supplies are quite limited. Last I checked, you could get a few seeds (not seedlings ) of their "Resoration Chestnut" by joining ACF at an elevated sponsor level ($300).  I don't think they are selling seedlings yet. However, their work does seem very promising as far as blight resistance goes.

I've not followed the WV Div of Forestry program (in fact, I didn't even know about it until I read this thread). It's nice to see some out there for a more affordable price ($75 for 25 seedlings, discounts at higher quantities).

[bugdust]

Update on the 50 American Chestnut seedlings I planted. Spot check shows expected results. Seems those planted higher on the mountain have faired better. Estimating 80% success. Good growth through the summer. Hope to updated later.

[Farmer Jim]

We put in 25 American Chestnut seedlings this Spring. They were from Cold Stream Farm.  We planted in 3 different locations and had roughly 80% survival.  My understanding is that they should reach nut producing age before succumbing to blight.

[jrose1970]

Thanks for the info. I'm very interested in planting some that are 15/16ths American Chestnut.
I would say that was one of the worst losses North America has ever had. They were such an important food source to the Indians and Settlers.