They are pretty much all low chill. Where are you?
Puerto Rico. I think that makes me zone 13a. Any good varieties to recommend?
I do exactly the same as Zazlev minus the toothpick holes. Fridge for 3 months with chopped slightly watered peat moss in a Ziploc baggy. The root radicles will peak out when it’s time for spring planting (fragile; do not snap off).
I plant them with an empty soup can around them (and a welded wire cage) to keep the varmints off them. At planting, point the root initial down, and the tiny sprout facing up.
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In Puerto Rico you need to be in an area where you have some cold temperatures in the winter which probably means at altitude. If you don’t get some cool temperatures in the winter you won’t get nuts. Chestnuts are grown in Zones 9 and 10 in many areas and even grown in Mexico and Africa near the equator, but all of these places have some cooling in the winter.
I’m willing to try them anyway. I don’t have much to lose but the price of the trees (and that doesn’t mean much to me). I enjoy experimenting with plants and trying new things. I always keep my hopes high and my expectations low. I don’t expect to get great results, but if I do, that’s awesome and a learning experience. Whatever does work for me should work for others too, so I can only gain from these situations (even if the only thing I gain is “confirmation” that it won’t work in the tropics). It’s worthwhile for me.
By peat moss, do you mean the stringy moss? Or would you also use peat moss, the brown soil like substance
I’m not sure what import rules you have for bringing chestnut trees into Puerto Rico. Your best options would be pure European trees, European/Japanese hybrid trees or pure Japanese trees. You might try this nursery in Washington State -
http://www.washingtonchestnut.com/products.html
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Either could probably be used, but I go with the bags of chopped peat moss (not the stringy stuff). It mixes better with the other amendments.
Nice! Thanks for the link.
And of the European, Japanese and their hybrids, do you recommend any particular variety for taste and productivity? And for reference, how do those compare with American and Chinese selections for quality?
I really don’t have a particular recommendation. The different chestnuts species have different flavors and textures and different people will have different preferences.
this years batch of American chestnuts in my raised bed air prune box. My hybrid chestnuts all got mold over wintering. I’ll try peat moss and ziplock bags next winter.
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Here are my first Maraval. I planted the tree bareroot from Raintree in April 2017. The pollinator was Precose Migoule that i planted last winter from Burnt Ridge. There are two burrs on the tree, each with a couple of nuts. I didn’t expect any at all yet, but now I get to taste them. I am in Southwest WA State.
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Does anyone have Mossbarger chestnuts? Or know where I could get some
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Any recommendations on varieties for zone 4b? Is it possible?
Nolin River Nursery in KY usually has Mossbarger but they are usually sold out a year ahead.
I have americans growing in 4b. 3 years old, and we’ve had 2 winters with -40 degrees.
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A little off topic, but how long from hand pollination to viable nuts? Anybody know the minimum time?
We had frost and the trees bloomed again, so I pollinated Aug 2, 4 and 6. The burs are a good size now, but no seams yet, paler green now, with some golden spine tips. The leaves have quite a bit of yellow coming, so not much longer for photosynthesis. I would guess another week till the seams start to show. I’ll cut them down then, so the squirrels don’t get them. Sure hope they are brown by then.
Minimum is 60 days but that can vary depending on variety, heat and light.
Thanks for the hope. Are they seedlings, any named varieties I can look for?
Thanks Castanea. They are at 70 days today, and I can leave them till Thursday, as I have promised some of them to someone else by then. The blank burs opened last night, tiny unfilled nuts as expected. This is an isolated tree, but I have placed grafts, just have to hand pollinate yet as there is only one twig that had a catkin. 6 burs, hope most have filled nuts. 