Planting and Growing Chestnut Trees

Note that there are many different ways to start and grow chestnuts. The differences in methods depend on several factors including pest pressure (deer, rodents, etc), the type of site on which you are planting (forested vs. old field), and what you are growing the trees for (breeding vs. nut production). The following sites will give you some beginning information on how to start, grow and maintain a chestnut orchard; however, for specific questions, we recommendthat you ask the experts, most of whom can be found on our listservs.

Some of the best documents to get you started planting and growing chestnuts are below:

• The TACF Field Guide - From identification to harvesting, this publication, written by TACF's staff scientists, details several aspects of TACF's backcross breeding program.
• Growing American Chesnuts (PDF file, 230KB) - This publication is distributed to those who order seedlings from TACF. An attractive handbook, with illustrations by Dr. Fred Paillet, the bound, printed version of this handbook is available from TACF for $5.00. These make a great reference for any chestnut grower.
• The Chestnut Primer - A publication produced by the theast Iowa Nut Growers. Though much of the cultural information pertains to southeast Iowa, the primer contains a wealth of information applicable to every nut grower.
• Growing Chestnuts for Commercial Markets in Michigan and other Midwest States: A Pioneer Industry - A comprehensive publication geared toward growing chestnuts for commercial purposes in the midwest. Although some of the information is applicable only to growers of commercial cultivars and those in the midwest, much of the information can be applied to any grower anywhere.

PA-TACF Planting Protocol - A short describtion of how the Pennsylvania Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation plants its seed in the spring. This is a PDF file so, you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download for free by clicking here.

Planting and Growing American Chestnuts (PDF - 2.81MB) - This document was derived from a PowerPoint presentation at the TACF 2005 Annual Meeting in Lexington, KY. Mainly showing brief notes on several planting topics, the document is meant as a brief overview of the types of decisions a grower should take into account while deciding how to plant and subsequently culture a planting of American or advanced hybrid chestnut trees.

Starting Chestnuts from Seed - Dr. Sandra Anagnostakis of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station explains how to gather seed in the fall and plant seed in the spring.

Starting a Chestnut Orchard - A powerpoint slide show produced by Clint Neel, President of the Tennessee Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (TN-TACF).

Growing Chestnut Seedlings (PDF - 350KB) - A lot of people wonder whether they should plant their chestnuts by seed or plant seedlings. For "pure" chestnut species, or those of advanced backcross generations, we generally recommend that, whenever possible, one plant by direct seeding; however, there are times when one wants or need to plant seedlings. Please refer to the attached document for some general information about growing chestnut seedlings in a greenhouse. This protocol was developed by Tim Phelps at Penn State University.