American Chestnut Tree

I'm curious as to whether or not it is possible to grow American Chestnut trees and have them bear fruit successfully. I thought I had read that they were entirely wiped out by blight, but see them offered for sale, so unless these trees are a cross between American Chestnuts and something else can you conclude that someone is getting them to bear fruit successfully? I also read on one of the websites offering them for sale that they would eventually succumb to blight -- do they ALL get blight? What exactly is blight? Can you prevent it? Thanks! Monica

American Chestnut trees are definitely still around & are often offered for sale, although usually with the caveat that they are not guaranteed resistant to the blight that wiped out most of the native stands of these trees. The only thing you need in order to get them to bear fruit successfully is two or more of them, as they are not self-pollinating.

If you're worried about blight, you might want to consider a Chinese Chestnut, which I understand is very disease-resistant. I have a huge one on my property & am planning on planting another one or two, because even though they are self-pollinating, you get more chestnuts if you have at least two of them. That said, my single tree produces a number of delicious chestnuts every year - at least enough for Thanksgiving stuffing & to share with the wild turkeys who apparently like them. (The previous owner of my farm was a big-time hunter rather than a gardener, & I have a feeling he planted this tree for the wildlife.)

I met a woman 3 years ago who is part of the move to get chestnuts established again. They are working on it!

Here are some interesting sites:

http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/chestnut/
http://www.acf.org/wildlife_10.htm
http://www.accf-online.org/links.html

Do your supermarkets sell/still have (from Christmas) edible chestnuts for sale? If so, these can be sown as seeds. I have about 20 sown in one gallon pots. I believe one needs two trees for chestnut trees............ to do their thing and produce nuts. I did this once before and have a 3 ft tree near the woods......... I will have to clear out fir (often called 'var' here) to make room - fir grows like grass here in a cut over area.

I have no idea how long it takes for one to grow to fruit bearing size.

Bill in Portugal Cove-Newfoundland, Canada zone 5a

Hey, Bill... Welcome to DG!

The ones you get at the supermarket will be Chinese. I've had American chestnuts and the flavor is richer. I love Chinese chestnuts, which are meaty and sweet, but prefer the Americans when I can find them. It's been a while.

Hi mcaren. The blight does not exist west of the Rockies, so there are full grown Am. Chestnuts out there. And yes, they will grow here until the bark gets rough and the fungus can get a grip. This is also the time they fruit. For a similar flavor, try growing Chinkapins (aka Chinquipins). They are a small cousin to the Chestnuts (name, I think, is Castenea pumila or C. alleghenensis) and bear when still young. Delicious, but all the rest of the animals around think so too. I have to pick mine with needle nose pliers, because as soon as the burr opens even 1/4 inch, some rascal takes them.