First year Chestnut tree report

[NH Mountains]

If you look closely inside the red circle there’s little bumps that form into burs.

 

[Browseline]

Here’s what Browse should be looking for on his trees late next June. The catkins produce the pollen and the bur that gets pollinated to form the bur and eventual nuts.

I had these on 2 of my trees this summer. Strange looking things but no burrs.

 

[NH Mountains]

I had these on 2 of my trees this summer. Strange looking things but no burrs.

Ok then you’ll have a lot more of them next year along with some burs next year. Hopefully they pollinate and give you some chestnuts!!

 

[NH Mountains]

These are the burs that form and grow the nuts inside. There’ll be up to 3 nuts per bur. The bur will grow to about the size of a tennis ball. The catkins are the long pipe cleaner looking things. They hold the pollen spores that pollinate the burs. You can smell these trees from 40 yards away when they’re in bloom. Kind of a sweaty armpit smell. I have one tree that has 1000 catkins and I can’t find one bur on it. There may be some up in the 15-20’ height area. The other tree is loaded with burs and has fewer catkins. Chestnuts need to be cross pollinated to produce pollinated nuts. Same as beech.

 

[mowbizz]

So much botanical-ness going on with these trees! Very cool! Who knew?

 

[mogwai]

Excellent! We planted 5 in grow tubes abut 3 years ago. Four of tehm are over 6' tall, but no budding yet. Your photos mke me look forqward to the future.

 

[NH Mountains]

Excellent! We planted 5 in grow tubes abut 3 years ago. Four of tehm are over 6' tall, but no budding yet. Your photos mke me look forqward to the future.

Are you down in Kentucky? I think you’d be ok with tubes there. I’ve had very poor luck growing chestnuts in tubes in New Hampshire. They suffer a lot of dieback and little growth. I think it’s from the tubes heating up in the winter sun and then the big freezes. I cage my chestnuts.

 

[mogwai]

Are you down in Kentucky? I think you’d be ok with tubes there. I’ve had very poor luck growing chestnuts in tubes in New Hampshire. They suffer a lot of dieback and little growth. I think it’s from the tubes heating up in the winter sun and then the big freezes. I cage my chestnuts.

Central Wisconsin

 

[NH Mountains]

Central Wisconsin

If it were me, I’d try pulling the tube off one and caging it. I think you’ll see better growth without cages. Are yours in full sun?

 

[lester2]

I’m not much of a tree guy, my business is stump grinding. I did a big job last summer for a guy in Hyde Park, VT. He’s a very well known businessman in the area and he’s pretty much retired now. His main interest these days is growing American Chestnut trees. He’s got a full time person working for him on the project. They have an outbuilding to germinate the nuts in, a fenced in pasture with, I’d guess, several hundred seedlings started that are anywhere from a few inches to a few feet. Not sure what his intent is with them all but it’s a pretty cool project.

 

[mogwai]

If it were me, I’d try pulling the tube off one and caging it. I think you’ll see better growth without cages. Are yours in full sun?

They are growing quite tall quite quickly. Will probably remove tubes next summer and put up fencing. A couple are nearly 8’ tall