I wouldn’t bother planting them. Chinese chestnuts I buy from Prairie Grove are almost as big, peels perfectly, and are so sweet that I snack on them raw. They should be hardy in zone 5.
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Do you have the name varieties that you bought from them.
Tony
They sell mixed lots of culinary nuts based on size so they’re probably from random seedlings trees. But the quality is consistently very good so they probably only harvest from high quality trees.
Route 9 Coop is still selling tree seeds nuts by the pound. They’re also not named but should be from a mix from the best named parents. Select Chinese and Japanese Seed Chestnuts – Route 9 Cooperative
BTW-don’t be tempted by the small nuts offered by Route 9 this year. They were disappointing compared to past years though at least they peeled okay after further aging.
Or you can buy named parents varieties from Buzz at Perfect Circle Farm
But as mentioned above by Zendog we may see cloned Chinese chestnuts in the next few years. That’s particularly important since you’re on the northern edge of Chinese chestnut cultivation where grafts don’t do well. It might be worth waiting for them to become available. A Qing on its own roots could yield 200 lbs of big tasty nuts on a relatively small plant, which would be amazing.
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The seeds I sent you last winter peeled very well and had good flavor. Hopefully you got them to grow. They were Chinese type nuts.
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They grew to about 7 inches each. I placed a chicken wire ring around them and filled them with bark mulch for winter protection. Next year they will be on their own. Thanks again.
Tony
Tony did you start them in containers or in ground? If in containers what size? I saved a couple dozen from upick at rt9 for next year
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I planted them in ground about 2 inches deep in May. It took a while for them to sprout though.
Tony