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!