Chestnut

(Castanea spp)

Description

Chestnuts are the grain that grows on trees. Growing high into the canopy and producing and unimaginable abundance of sweet, starchy nuts, the hazelnut is a true winner in terms of food security. Two to three nuts are produced in each spiky husk, which will split open and drop the nuts when ripe. Nuts can be eaten roasted, boiled and mashed like potatoes, or ground into a flour and used in some of the most delicious baked goods you’ll ever eat.

The chestnuts that we sell are all grown from seed from healthy parents in the RI/MA area with no signs of stress or disease. They come from a hybrid lineage including both American and Chinese. They have shown to be very robust and highly prolific.

Chestnuts are wind-pollinated and multiple are required to produce nuts. They can live to be hundreds of years old, cropping heavily for much of their life, and can become very large, so plant accordingly.

Our chestnuts are sold as first-year bare-root seedlings that we grow out in air prune beds in rich, fungal soil. You can expect a small tree at least one foot tall with a dense, bushy root system.

Site Preference

Full sun and good drainage

Hardiness

Zone 4