Chestnut timber as soon as thrived within the majority of the forests in japanese North America.
They are often towering shade timber, flowering shrubs, or petite food-producing timber, relying on the range you select.
Earlier than you plant a chestnut tree, there are a couple of components you want to remember. After all, your USDA Hardiness Zone will dictate which selection you possibly can develop. Dimension can even be a giant issue.
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On high of that, whereas chestnuts aren’t significantly susceptible to pests, there are a couple of ailments that may be an enormous downside, together with the notorious blight.
If blight is an issue in your space, you’ll need to give attention to selecting from a couple of resistant species.
Our information to rising chestnuts discusses the way to domesticate species within the Castanea genus in your panorama.
On this information, we’ll discuss all essentially the most wonderful cultivars, hybrids, and species for dwelling growers. Right here’s the lineup:
11 Favourite Chestnut Varieties
Chestnuts are an essential a part of human historical past, showing in fossil information and lore going again centuries.
Throughout the Castanea genus there are 13 species, 4 of that are generally cultivated for meals and wooden, together with many hybrids.
Hybrids will be created by way of intentional breeding or they will occur naturally. In reality, a few of the greatest hybrids at present in cultivation had been naturally-occurring.
There are over 1300 cultivars and new ones popping up on a regular basis. For essentially the most half, chestnuts are hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9, however we’ll level out the place this isn’t the case.
Notice that you just gained’t see horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) on this record.
These timber aren’t even shut kin of these within the Castanea genus. Buckeyes, as they’re additionally recognized, are within the lychee and soapnut household, Sapindaceae, and whereas the spiky capsules look just like these of chestnuts, they aren’t edible.
Chestnuts within the Castanea genus are monecious, which signifies that the male reproductive elements (the catkins) and the feminine elements (flowers) seem on the identical tree.
Which means the pollen from a single specimen can pollinate itself and likewise different timber within the neighborhood. So in principle, you solely want one tree to supply nuts.
Nevertheless, it usually occurs that on the time the pollen is being produced, the flowers on the identical tree will not be but mature sufficient to be pollinated. For that reason, many growers usually preserve two completely different timber, to facilitate pollination of each.
Moreover, some cultivars will not be self-fertile, so it’s a good suggestion to verify earlier than buy.
Let’s begin our journey by discussing the American species and one of many saddest and most devastating ecological disasters in North American historical past.
1. American
Chestnuts have grown in North America for over 50 million years and C. dentata was as soon as one of many dominant species within the forests from Maine to Florida.
They’ll develop over 100 toes tall with trunks that measure 12 toes or extra in diameter.
Wildlife as different as bear, deer, squirrels, turkeys, and the extinct woodrat relied on them for meals and habitat.
As people unfold throughout their vary, they started to depend on the nuts, as nicely. Later, with the arrival of Europeans, the wooden turned essential and was used to make furnishings and constructing buildings.
After which chestnut blight arrived. Attributable to the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, the illness arrived in New York Metropolis from Japan in 1904 and rapidly killed nearly all the wild chestnut timber in japanese North America.
By the Nineteen Fifties, over 30 million acres of timber had been fully worn out by the illness, which girdles the trunk at its base.
It’s arduous to think about, however the japanese forests used to look vastly completely different only a few generations in the past than they do at the moment. It was one of many worst ecological disasters in North American historical past.
The chestnut meals business was additionally worn out and at the moment, many North Individuals don’t know what contemporary American chestnuts style like.
You should buy imported sorts, which have a distinct taste from American ones, and, hardly ever, you may discover locally-grown fruits from new American hybrids or one of many few surviving timber.
That’s proper. A couple of current timber survived the blight of their unique vary and there are some rising exterior of their unique vary, so all isn’t misplaced for the American species.
Scientists are working to breed genetically modified timber which are immune to the illness to be planted within the wild to repopulate the decimated areas.
There’s additionally work to cross breed Chinese language species with American species to supply a resistant hybrid that’s genetically primarily American however with the blight resistance of the Chinese language species. Time will inform what turns into of those efforts.
Because the blight kills the trunk and cover however not the roots, some century-old roots nonetheless survive and recurrently ship up shoots.
However these shoots inevitably turn into contaminated with the illness and the trunks turn into girdled earlier than they attain maturity.
Some gardeners plant the species and revel in it for a couple of years realizing that it’ll ultimately succumb to the illness.
American chestnuts produce eight-inch catkins in white or cream, and the nuts are small, with about 75 to150 nuts per pound, however intensely flavorful, candy, and straightforward to peel.
The timber are extremely productive by the point they attain eight years previous or so, however will produce a smaller yield earlier than that.
Many individuals take into account American nuts to be the very best tasting, which makes it much more of a disgrace that they’re so tough to seek out.
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)
You should buy this species at Nature Hills Nursery. Simply bear in mind that these timber aren’t proof against blight and also you run the chance of shedding yours, significantly if you happen to stay in japanese North America.
In case your tree does present resistance, be sure you let your native extension know. They could need to add the tree to their breeding program.
2. American Hybrids
Wild chestnut timber hybridize with each other, and there are a number of pure hybrids which have been introduced into cultivation. The chinknut, C. × neglecta, is one instance.
However people have helped the method alongside, as nicely. Plant breeders have crossed quite a few species with the purpose of making a hybrid that mixes the very best traits of our favourite timber.
Generally you will notice a plant listed as a generic “hybrid” chestnut. These are normally a cross between American (C. dentata) and Chinese language (C. mollissima) timber.
Many native breeders and universities make their very own American/Chinese language hybrids, so there isn’t a set customary throughout the board. Some will develop as much as 100 toes tall, whereas others keep beneath 30 toes.
Some produce heaps of small nuts, with round 100 nuts per pound and others have fewer however bigger fruits, as much as 20 per pound. Relying on the hybrid, the catkins could also be white or yellow and as much as 9 inches lengthy.
American Hybrid Chestnut
Make sure you learn the grower’s description to grasp what the traits are of the tree you might be buying.
For instance, Nature Hills Nursery has a hybrid that grows as much as 60 toes tall.
3. Belle Epine
‘Belle Epine’ is well-liked as a pollinator and resists root rot so it could tolerate heavier soils than most different chestnuts.
This European (C. sativa) cultivar comes from France and the nuts ripen later within the season than most different chestnuts.
Not solely does it produce flavorful nuts, nevertheless it’s partially self-fertile. The nuts are medium to giant in measurement, at 22 per pound and straightforward to peel.
If you happen to like having a show bowl of nuts in your kitchen or as a centerpiece, the shiny, mahogany pores and skin is extraordinarily enticing.
The catkins are gracefully arching with cream-colored flowers, and the timber can develop as much as 100 toes tall.
‘Belle Epine’ begins producing good sized yields in simply three years or so.
4. Chinese language
Chinese language chestnuts (C. mollissima) hail from japanese Asia, although they’ve been in cultivation for therefore lengthy that it’s not sure the place they originated.
We all know they’ve been grown for no less than 6,000 years. In the present day, the chestnut business in China is prospering, and the nation is without doubt one of the largest producers and customers of the nuts.
A bit extra petite than American and European chestnuts, these timber develop to about 40 toes tall, although they will attain as much as 65 toes in optimum circumstances.
The leaves are oval and thick, with a lighter underside due to the white hairs that cowl the floor. It’s this bushy underside that helps us differentiate Chinese language sorts from American and European.
The nuts are flavorful, medium to giant in measurement, with 30 to 50 nuts per pound, relying on the cultivar. They aren’t fairly as candy and pungent as American sorts, however they’re scrumptious in a barely completely different approach.
The style can fluctuate barely from cultivar to cultivar, so be sure you learn up on the flavour if you happen to’re in search of a selected profile. They’re typically straightforward to peel with a yellow nutmeat inside.
The lengthy yellow and cream coloured catkins that seem within the spring are significantly enticing, although the flowers don’t precisely have the very best perfume. Some folks prefer it, however others suppose it’s foul. However the floral show is spectacular and far showier than different species.
C. mollissima additionally tends to be extra adaptable than many different species. You’ll discover these timber thriving in something from sandy to clay soil.
This species is immune to chestnut blight. The timber aren’t immune, however once they contract the illness, the signs are minimal if there are any in any respect.
That mentioned, resistance varies, and also you may discover one tree turns into closely symptomatic, whereas others by no means present any indicators in any respect. The cultivar ‘Crane’ tends to be prone whereas ‘Jenny’ is never troubled, for instance.
For essentially the most half, if a tree is contaminated, it would lose a limb or one thing, however not a lot else will occur.
There are lots of wonderful improved cultivars out there in the marketplace. ‘Beth’ has nuts with a wonderful taste and ‘Bouche de Betizac’ is warmth tolerant and gall wasp resistant.
‘Benton Harbor’ is high-yielding and intensely giant. ‘Crane’ provides you medium-sized, tasty nuts that retailer nicely. ‘Hong Kong’ has extraordinarily candy nuts and is vigorous.
Chinese language Chestnut (Castanea mollissima)
Hardy in Zones 4 to 9, these are wonderful timber if you wish to harvest tasty chestnuts however don’t need to fear about blight an excessive amount of.
Quick Rising Bushes carries species timber in single or 4 packs in a wide range of sizes.
These timber are well-liked within the southeast, however they will develop nearly anyplace within the US and southern Canada.
5. Colossal
‘Colossal’ is a broadly grown cross between C. sativa and C. crenata that produces huge nuts, with simply 11 to fifteen per pound and as much as 50 kilos per tree.
The nuts don’t retailer nicely, so that you’ll must eat them inside a couple of months. The timber begin producing when younger, simply three or 4 years previous. At maturity, they attain as much as 40 toes tall.
That is the cultivar that industrial growers are specializing in in western North America. You’ll discover it in most industrial chestnut orchards alongside the Pacific coast.
It originated within the late 1800s in Nevada Metropolis, California, the place it was bred by grower Benjamin Tonella. The yellow catkins can develop as much as eight inches lengthy and are pleasantly aromatic.
Whereas ‘Colossal’ is reasonably prone to blight, it’s way more in a position to face up to the illness than the American species.
Its different disadvantage is that the wooden will be weak and susceptible to breakage when laden with nuts, particularly in windy climate.
‘Colossal’ Chestnut
Nevertheless it’s excessive manufacturing and flavorful nuts make it nicely price having round. Need one? Discover yours at Nature Hills Nursery.
6. Dustan Hybrids
After nearly all of American crops had been killed throughout the blight, horticulturalists began to take inventory of the remaining timber.
One grower discovered a promising specimen that lends its genetics to many fashionable hybrids and cultivars. In the present day, lots of the current American chestnuts are bred from Dunstan timber.
The unique Dunstan tree was a single specimen that survived in a grove of dying or useless blighted chestnuts.
Dr. Robert Dunstan, a plant breeder and member of the Northern Nut Growers Affiliation, tried to contaminate the tree with the spores of the fungi that trigger the illness and it continued to face sturdy.
So he grafted scions taken from the tree onto wholesome rootstock and cross-pollinated that tree with a couple of completely different Chinese language cultivars rising close by. These had been ‘Kuling,’ ‘Meiling,’ and ‘Nanking.’
By 1962, a couple of of the cross-pollinated seedlings began placing out fruit and he crossed these again with the American mum or dad.
The ensuing timber have been in cultivation for the reason that Nineteen Seventies and will be bought throughout the US. Whereas they aren’t precisely just like the American species, they’re shut.
Dunstan Chestnut
Dunstan hybrids produce large nuts, with simply 15 to 35 nuts per pound they usually begin showing only a few years after you plant the tree. The six-inch catkins are white or cream in shade.
You could find Dunstan chestnuts out there at Nature Hills Nursery.
Standard Dustan cultivars embrace ‘Skookum,’ ‘Lyeroka,’ and ‘Myoka.’
7. Dwarf
American chinquapin or dwarf chestnut (C. pumila) produces fruits, nevertheless it’s not the one you’d select if you would like excessive yields just because the nuts are so small.
As such, some folks select to develop it as a decorative tree or shrub that simply occurs to supply a little bit of meals.
Whereas it could develop as much as about 25 toes tall, most keep half that measurement.
As a decorative, it’s a charmer, with reddish and gray-brown, scaly bark. The lanceolate leaves are inexperienced on high and paler on the underside with faint hairs. Within the early summer time, six-inch catkins of yellow and white blossoms seem.
Whenever you harvest the fruits, you’re in for a deal with. They’re even higher than their shut relative the American chestnut. The small nuts are sweeter and each bit as flavorful – and on yr you possibly can harvest as much as 500 kilos from a single tree.
The crops are immune to blight and whereas they are often contaminated, most recuperate with none everlasting harm. When contaminated, you’ll possible see decreased development and yields. There are a couple of cultivars on the market, together with ‘Fuller’ and ‘Rush.’
8. European
The European or Spanish chestnut (C. sativa) is indigenous to the Caucasus area surrounding the Black Sea in fashionable Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey.
The tree was extremely essential within the area, showing in historical Greek and Roman texts. Romans grafted the timber to enhance each the wooden and the fruits.
There are even a number of cities within the area named after these timber. As Romans moved all through Europe, they introduced chestnuts with them and now the timber will be discovered from the tip of Northern Scotland to the toe of Italy.
In 1773, it was imported to the US by Thomas Jefferson. In the present day, Italy is the first chestnut exporter in Europe they usually have a small presence in North America.
There are two important forms of European chestnuts.
The primary is marroni, which produce giant, candy, flavorful nuts – about 15 per pound – which are straightforward to peel. Marroni chestnuts can hint their lineage again to the cultivar ‘Marrone Fiorentino’ which was bred in northern Italy within the 1500s.
The second is castagna, that are smaller, much less flavorful, and tougher to peel. That is used as a broad time period to explain the inferior European cultivars bred in Italy.
Each have white nutmeat and may develop as much as 100 toes tall with huge trunks as much as seven toes in diameter. The catkins are yellowish inexperienced and about six inches lengthy, relying on the cultivar.
Whereas these timber are much less affected by chestnut blight than American species, they’re nonetheless prone. Nevertheless, the illness general is much less damaging in Europe, so the rising business has been a lot much less impacted there.
There are lots of cultivars which are improved variations of the species. ‘Borra’ is a favourite for these wanting significantly giant, flavorful nuts. ‘Fowler’ has extraordinarily high-quality fruits which are straightforward to peel. ‘Silverleaf’ has giant, candy nuts.
9. Japanese
The Japanese or Korean chestnut (C. crenata) has narrower leaves and is smaller than the European and American species.
When mature, it solely reaches about 50 toes tall at most, although it’s normally nearer to 30 toes tall.
It’s extraordinarily immune to blight, Phytophthora, and ink illness, so it’s a preferred species to hybridize with the extra disease-susceptible American timber.
The nuts themselves lack the deep taste of European and American species and are medium in measurement.
They’re just like Chinese language chestnuts, with about 35 to 50 per pound, and with an analogous taste that could be a bit milder and fewer candy.
That’s why the Japanese species isn’t sometimes grown for the nuts alone however as a decorative with a bonus of nuts within the fall. The slender, eight-inch white catkins develop in an upright method and steadily arc downwards.
It was launched to the US in 1876 by Thomas Hogg and George Rogers Corridor. Each horticulturalists hung out in Japan and independently despatched again specimens that they discovered throughout their travels.
There are lots of wonderful cultivars on the market together with ‘Ginyose’ and ‘Tsukuba,’ that are each immune to gall wasps and produce giant, flavorful fruits.
Japanese chestnuts are hardy in Zones 4 to eight.
10. Okei
‘Okei’ is a wonderful pollinator that produces huge fruits at 15 per pound. They are often even greater than these of ‘Colossal.’
It’s a quick grower and begins producing at a younger age, nevertheless it prefers a heat local weather to supply greatest. The long-lasting, cream coloured catkins develop as much as eight inches lengthy.
In cooler climates, ‘Okei’ makes a stunning decorative, however the manufacturing will probably be vastly decreased. Because it’s not a heavy yielder to start with, that would imply a fairly paltry harvest. It’s able to rising in Zones 4 to eight.
‘Okie,’ as it’s typically spelled, was developed by combining a Japanese and European ‘Silverleaf’ cultivar on the College of California Davis. It’s usually used as a companion to pollinate ‘Colossal.’
11. Sleeping Large
‘Sleeping Large’ is an American, Chinese language, and Japanese cross with giant nuts with about 40 per pound on an especially vigorous tree, with eight-inch cream coloured catkins.
It’s additionally blight-resistant. Bred by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 1937, the flowers ripen later in spring than different cultivars, which implies they emerge after the late frosts that may plague some areas. The nuts ripen mid-season.
Along with the wonderful fruits, it makes a stellar decorative. It grows about 60 toes tall with beautiful shiny, serrated leaves.
Stunning and Scrumptious
When you may have a chestnut tree in your yard, it’s the last word two-for-one – a lovely decorative with the bonus of scrumptious nuts.
Blight has made rising chestnuts a problem, however we’ve choices now if you happen to dream of constructing it occur.
Which type are you considering of rising? Are you in search of a decorative or a supply of meals? Possibly each? Tell us within the feedback part under.
And for extra details about rising nut timber in your panorama, try these guides subsequent: