What are some good cultivars for Chinese chestnuts in my area? Zone 9 1 hour south of Houston. If anyone has any knowledge it would be greatly appreciated.
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I am in 9a between Victoria and Gonzales. I have a couple of Chinese chestnuts. I don’t remember the cultivar. They are still small and really suffered this last summer. Mine are in full sun, but should probably have some afternoon shade. D
The first thing you need is good soil, which means well drained acidic soil. The Texas gulf has some good soils but also has areas with clay soil and even some alkaline soil.
It’s difficult to buy the better grafted chestnuts. Empire Chestnuts in Ohio no longer sells them. Nolin River Nursery in Kentucky is almost always sold out. Stark Brothers in Missouri sells only a few. Burnt Ridge in Washington sells no grafted Chinese trees. Washington Chestnuts occasionally has one or two. One Green World has no grafted Chinese trees but does have Szego, a very good Chinese/Japanese hybrid. I’m not sure how Szego would do in your area. Pure Chinese trees would probably be better.Perfect Circle Nursery has Gideon and Qing both of which have very good quality Chinese nuts.
Depending on how much room you have it might e better to plant Chinese seedlings.
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Good info. Thanks!
Replying here because it’s an important thread. A lot of us in the Deep South are looking to nuts outside of pecans. More info on species and varieties for down here is needed.
I planted some Chinese and Dunstan chestnut barefoot last winter and they’re taking their time. Showing signs of stress though I keep them watered.
Wonder if Japanese or European genetics would work here?
What’s the soil like? They need rich acidic soils
@Andrewp, Auburn University (my alma mater, and hometown) had a chestnut breeding program at one time. There are quite a few AU selections that are superior in nut quality, including AU Super, AU Homestead, and the AU Buck series (I-IV). They originated, and have performed well in z8; IDK how they’d fare in Z9.
There is a Facebook group, ‘Chestnuts as a tree crop - Castanea species nut trees’, which is populated by a number of very experienced chestnut growers, who may be able to give recommendations.
That said, my understanding is that the Dunstans, despite their hype, are almost totally, if not completely, Chinese in their genetic makeup, and the Chinese varieties that Dr. Dunstan used in their development were not all that great, so they produce a mediocre nut, at best.
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Thanks for the tips guys. I went to Auburn too. Class of ‘13.
Stress in the plants in the form of eaten and some shriveled leaves. I think is because they were just barefoot planted mostly this past spring. I’m hoping with enough water they can adapt.
My land is 10 forested acres with mostly pine and oak species. Beech, magnolia, witch hazel, tulip poplar in the lower areas sloping up a hill to drier piney area.
We’re very hot here in the summer about 50 miles inland from the gulf coast and low native fertility sandy loam soil I’ve found.
I’d try to get some of the AU chestnuts then if they are available somewhere.