How to Grow a Chestnut Tree

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How to Grow a Chestnut Tree

As we know,the Chestnut in the United States is a member of the Castanets genus, which is a small group ofnut-producing timber trees. One native spnies,C. dentata, the American Chestnut, was probablythe most valuable timber tree in this country.Certainly it was the dominant tree in the vasthardwood forests. Unfortunately an Asiaticfungus, Endothia parasitica, which gainedentrance to N.Y. about 1900, has all butexterminated the American Chestnut in thiscountry. Common in the hardwood forests ofthe eastern half of the United States, only anoccasional sucker from the live root system isnow seen from Me. to Mich. and south to theGulf of Mexico.

Sometimes the suckers become large enoughto bear nuts arousing hope that eventually theAmerican Chestnut may acquire resistance tothe blight. The U.S. Forest Service, the stateforestry departments and others, notably Dr.Richard A. Jaynes, have been crossing AmericanChestnut with the Japanese species, Castaneacrenata and the Chinese species, C. 111011iSSilna,both of which have resistance to Endothia. Someprogress is being made, but hope of producing atimber-type hybrid with sufficient resistance touse in reforesting has not yet been realized.

Although a number of named varieties areavailable from nurseries, notably 'Abundance',`Carr' and 'Hobson', because of incompatibilitybetween seedling stock and the scion, manypersons have had poor results with them. Theyare now turning to named selections 'of theChinese Chestnut which have been made by theUSDA. Grafted trees come into bearing in 5or 6 years. Seedlings often do not bear until 15or more years old. Chinese Chestnuts havenuts as sweet as the American and often oflarger size. Recommended are 'Nanking',`Meiling' and 'Ruling'. All 3 produce large nutsof excellent quality. Although the ChineseChestnut is questionably hardy in Zone 3, itdoes extremely well over most of the country.

Very likely the resistance of both the ChineseChestnut and the Japanese Castanea crenataresulted from living with the disease for severalhundred years. On that basis we may hope thateventually the American Chestnut will acquire adegree of resistance some day.

The Japanese Chestnut, C. crenata, is aspreading short-trunked tree that usually re-mains under 3o feet in height. Leaves areoblong, 4 to 7 in. in length with the marginserrated. The burr is about 2 in. in dia. andnormally has 2 nuts, which lack the quality ofthe nuts of either the American or ChineseChestnut. It thrives in much of the countryfrom Zone 4 south.

The Chinese Chestnut, C. mollissima, mayreach 5o ft. in height. The trunk, however, isshort and the crown is broad. The ellipticleaves are coarsely toothed with a whitepubescence along the veins. Native to China andKorea, the nuts, 2 normally to a burr, arelarge and sweet. Hardy from Zone 4 south,several producing orchards in the Midwest andthe middle Atlantic states yield plentiful crops ofhigh quality nuts.

The Spanish Chestnut, C. sativa, is a tall treenative to Europe, western Asia and NorthAfrica. It has been in cultivation in Europe formany years. In this country, it is less hardy thaneither Asiatic species. The nuts are large and wellfilled when properly grown, but they lack thepleasant flavor of either American Chestnut or

the Asiatic species. In recent years chestnutblight has reached Europe and is decimating theorchards of Spanish Chestnut.

The Chinquapin, C. panzila, is a shrubbyAmerican tree, usually remaining under zo ft.in height. Native from N.J. to Fla. and west toTex. and Okla., its burrs are a little over aninch in dia. and normally contain a single nut.Leaves 3 to 7 in. long are coarsely toothed andhave a white felt on the underside.

Interest in the Chestnut for landscape use hasin recent years been largely concentrated on theChinese Chestnut. It is an attractive spreadingtree, both ornamental and equally serviceable asa shade tree. Neither the Asiatic nor theAmerican Chestnut is exacting in its soilrequirement, but no Chestnut will thrive in asoil where drainage is poor. A rocky well-drained hillside with a sandy loam is ideal forchestnuts.

The most serious insect pest is a tiny snoutbeetle which lays its eggs on the growing burrs inJuly. The grubs hatch and bore into the enlarg-ing nuts within the burr where they feed on thekernel. These chestnut weevils can be controlledwith any one of several pesticides, but it isadvisable to inquire of the Extension Service ofthe State University as to timing and the specificchemical to use. Since this pest pupates in thesoil under the tree, control may be had bypesticide treatment of the soil. Other insects arenot usually troublesome.

The most serious disease of the Chestnut isthe blight, Endothia para.sitica, for which thereis now no known control. It does not affect theroots which sucker freely. Such suckers some-times live long enough to produce a few nuts.The U.S. Forest Service has acquired detailedinformation on several hundred AmericanChestnut trees that have not been killed byEndothia. Records of persisting suckers are alsoin their hands. It is hoped that a disease-resistant American Chestnut may be found tobe reproduced vegetatively or to be crossedwith a Chinese or Japanese Chestnut, therebyproducing a resistant hybrid.

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