Dustan chestnuts

[bornagain62511]

I haven't checked through all the chestnut threads so I'm sorry if I'm repeating an often asked question here. Are Dustan chestnuts regarded as the best choice for chestnuts? Is there any American varieties that are blight-resistant ? Has anybody been growing Dustan Chestnut trees in southern Wisconsin that have survived through last winter's extreme cold weather? What is the best place to buy Dustan chestnuts from? I'd like to grow some Dustan's if they are able to survive Wisconsin Winters.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[cavey]

I haven't checked through all the chestnut threads so I'm sorry if I'm repeating an often asked question here. Are Dustan chestnuts regarded as the best choice for chestnuts? Is there any American varieties that are blight-resistant ? Has anybody been growing Dustan Chestnut trees in southern Wisconsin that have survived through last winter's extreme cold weather? What is the best place to buy Dustan chestnuts from? I'd like to grow some Dustan's if they are able to survive Wisconsin Winters.

Thanks for your advice.

I have some growing in north western wisconsin that survived last winter we hit -38.... I need to do an inventory of them all but, those in the nursery survived and I have a bunch going into their 3rd winter mortality as been due to mice issues. Their all young trees. My Chinese chestnuts that are 15' plus tall all survived with some end tip die back. I would give them a whirl for sure down there.

 

[yoderjac]

First, let's define Dunstan Chestnuts. Originally it was a cross (and back cross as I recall) between American and Chinese for the purpose of retaining blight resistance. There was a patent issues for a specific cultivar called "Dunstan". Chestnuts are not easy to graft, and asexual production is the only way to get a unique cultivar. Since a chestnut can not pollinate itself or a "clone" (same variety), grafting is the only option. Chestnut Hill is where the original Dunstan variety was created. However, they also use the name "Dunstan" as a trade name. The original grafted trees were sold for a number of years and there are some orchards around that have these trees.

Chestnut Hill now sells seedlings of "Dunstan" under the trade name "Dunstan". This is not necessarily a bad thing since most of the characteristics we care about seem to come through with sexual reproduction, but keep in mind that 50 percent of the genetics come from another chestnut variety. You can also buy nuts from an orchard with Dunstan trees and grow them from seed getting the same seedlings sold by Chestnut Hill today.

Are Dunstan chestnuts the "best" for deer? Nope. They are just the most hyped in sporting magazines. They do have some nice characteristics for deer but so do other chestnuts. Chinese chestnuts can be a very economical choice for wildlife. Most of what I've grown are "children of Dunstan". I've grown them from seed using a root pruning container system. Regardless of the type of chestnut, you are talking 5 to 10 years or more before there is enough production to have a significant impact. They are a long-term investment but a good one. Personally, I would not pay the premium for Dunstan. I'm using them only because I can grow them from seed and there is no real premium that way. Otherwise, I'd be using less expensive Chinese varieties (and I do have some straight Chinese).

There are a lot of other cross breeds. The American Chestnut Foundation has been doing multiple crosses trying to get a tree that is as close to american as possible genetically but retains the blight resistance. Recently, I believe someone had genetically modified the American chestnut adding only the blight resistance genes from Chinese chestnuts. Last I heard, these were not yet approved.

I believe there are Chinese chestnuts that are more hardy than Dunstan. Trying to grow Dunstan in your area is probably "zone pushing" pretty hard. I'm not saying it is impossible, just that it is going to be tough. If I were you, provided this is just for wildlife, I'd consider looking for a Chinese variety that is hardy further north than Dunstan.

As for the best place to buy, Chestnut Hill is the source for "Dunstan" branded chestnuts. I believe they do have a deal with Walmart. We see threads on that from time to time. If you decide to go the Dunstan route, another option is direct seeding. One orchard I've been happy with is Chestnut Ridge of Pike County. They have been a great source for nuts for me.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[TreeDaddy]

well pleased with Chestnut Ridge

will order from them in october to start my fifth season in containers ~feb/2020

bill

 

[j-bird]

"Best" is a matter of perspective. It's all a matter of what works best to fit your needs. I have a couple dunstan from Chestnut hill. You can find these at times as 3 or 5 gallon container plants at some retailers. You can also get trees from other sources. I am not as far north as you so I am not sure how well they will do in your area. I continue to plant chestnut hill trees as they had proven to be very helpful and supportive in a recent issue I had (had a producing tree - 3 gallon size 3 years in the ground - just up and die - suspected of root rot). I do not have experience with other varieties. As with any plant....grow what best suits your area based on soils, zones and other environmental conditions. It does you know good to plant something that will struggle simply based on a name. Nobody wants to plant a tree and have it die, but if you're simply feeding wildlife...don't think that you HAVE to plant a dunstan chestnut.

 

[bornagain62511]

Thanks everyone. I think I will order some nuts from Chestnut Ridge to plant. What works best for rootmaker trays? Is there any rootmaker tray size I could grow them in for a full year from seed, and then transplant them to the field to their permanent location the next spring? Or do you need to keep increasing the cell size throughout the first year? Looking for something I can just plant them in and only have to transplant one time the 2nd spring, otherwise I will just plant the nuts in the garden for the first year and dig up and transplant the second year, or seed directly into the field in their permanent location .. thanks.

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks everyone. I think I will order some nuts from Chestnut Ridge to plant. What works best for rootmaker trays? Is there any rootmaker tray size I could grow them in for a full year from seed, and then transplant them to the field to their permanent location the next spring? Or do you need to keep increasing the cell size throughout the first year? Looking for something I can just plant them in and only have to transplant one time the 2nd spring, otherwise I will just plant the nuts in the garden for the first year and dig up and transplant the second year, or seed directly into the field in their permanent location .. thanks.

There are two approaches that seem to work well for folks. One is direct seeding. Guys plant and protect seeds in the fall and let nature cold stratify them. They will use window screen or other methods to protect the nuts from rodents and then tube the trees when they grow the following spring. Some will grow and some will not.

I primarily use the second approach. I grow them using rootmakers. I start mine in the winter indoors under lights and then acclimate them to the outdoors on my deck. When they are large enough, I plant them at the farm.

I like the Rootmaker Express Tray 18s. They last longer and you can relocate cells within the tray. I use inexpensive shop lights with fluorescent or LED tubes suspended above me trees. Because these lights are not hot and light energy diminishes with distance squared, I like to keep them 2" to 3" above my trees. By using express trays, I can reorganize my trees by height from time to time and hang the lights at an angle keeping them the same distance from all the trees.

Keep in mind that root pruning requires a system of containers. The 18s job is to primarily to prune the tap root. This causes upstream branching in the next 4". So, in 12 to 16 weeks, they have filled the cells and are ready for transplant to a larger root pruning container. I like Rootmaker's Rootbuilder II containers. I typically transplant them to 1 gal about when I can take them outside and start acclimating them in my climate. I typically keep them in Rootmakers for at least one growing season in my area. I like to start with 1 gal and then transplant them to 3 gal RB2s in the first season. Here is a thread with a lot more details and pictures: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...h-rootmakers-transfered-from-qdma-forum.5556/

My trees seem to do best in the field when the rootball has filled a 3 gal RB2. I've tried to plant from 1 gals and even experimented with 18s. Planting from 18s was a failure and planting from 1 gals did ok, but did not see most trees flourish.

I'm in zone 7a, so you will need to consider your location and growing season and adapt my techniques accordingly.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Look into becoming a member of the American Chestnut Foundation. I believe the membership is $100 (which goes to a great cause) and you will get 10 nuts off of their most recent producing blight resistant trees.

 

[cavey]

When you say "southern wisconsin" does that put you on the border or north of Madison ... that 5a/5b area is about as good as its going to get here in the land of cheese. I agree with whats been said, the chinese will do the best, hybrids 2nd and your full on american may still struggle Im guessing your far enough down south to pull it off with all three types. Try to direct seed some if you can get the timing down - you'll keep the tap root... I potted all mine out after starting them from seed its work but its cool to do. The chinese are all bought as bare roots years ago and they are producing mature nuts now. At least some anyways... I need to check to see how they have done this year but last year I had quite a few. Just do it!

 

[H20fwler]

I have Dunstan's and Chinese planted and have gotten nuts off both types. For me in my area with loamy clay the Chinese seem to be more forgiving and more hardy than the Dunstan's...and are way cheaper to purchase. The only way I would buy any more Dunstan's to put in would be if I found them on sale, Rural King carries them here in spring and fall.
The past few years I have been stratifying a couple bags of nuts from my stuff in fridge and direct seeding in early spring and walking away from them, success rate is probably around 10%-15% from ones I see walking around property and I'm happy with that for the little effort I put in to them.

 

[bornagain62511]

When you say "southern wisconsin" does that put you on the border or north of Madison ... that 5a/5b area is about as good as its going to get here in the land of cheese. I agree with whats been said, the chinese will do the best, hybrids 2nd and your full on american may still struggle Im guessing your far enough down south to pull it off with all three types. Try to direct seed some if you can get the timing down - you'll keep the tap root... I potted all mine out after starting them from seed its work but its cool to do. The chinese are all bought as bare roots years ago and they are producing mature nuts now. At least some anyways... I need to check to see how they have done this year but last year I had quite a few. Just do it!

I'm about 50 miles northwest of Madison. We got down to -35F to -40F last winter depending on exact location in our area, ridge versus valleys, etc. There is actually a nice sized grove of American Chestnuts fairly close by that I've collected nut from for years. The largest trees are 24" to 30" or more in diameter and must be at least 60 years old. They were totally disease free until several years ago when I first started to notice the blight affecting them. Now there are quite a few that have died from the blight, but the ones that haven't got the blight are doing great with the cold weather we had last winter. I have some seedlings from them in the garden that survived the winter really well and they are located in the valley where it probably got down to around -40F.

I would just continue to plant seedlings that I grow from their nuts, but now that the blight has entered the area, I'm looking for other options. I actually want the chestnuts for my own personal consumption as for deer attraction. Are the Dustan's chestnuts sweet tasting? Are they as good tasting as the American Chestnuts? I know most have never had a chance to taste American Chestnuts since they have mostly died off throughout America. I thought we might be segregated enough from their traditional range that the blight wouldn't make it into our area, but now it's here.

 

[The Fishman]

I don't first hand experience with eating an American chestnut, but from what I have read, Dunstans are not one of the preferred cultivars for human consumption. They don't tend to produce as many nuts per tree or taste as good as other Chinese cultivars. As Jack stated, Dunstans do have a very good marketing team. Luvall's Monster is supposed to be a cold hardy cultivar that you might want to investigate.

 

[bornagain62511]

I don't first hand experience with eating an American chestnut, but from what I have read, Dunstans are not one of the preferred cultivars for human consumption. They don't tend to produce as many nuts per tree or taste as good as other Chinese cultivars. As Jack stated, Dunstans do have a very good marketing team. Luvall's Monster is supposed to be a cold hardy cultivar that you might want to investigate.

OK, thanks. From what I read about Dustans I thought they were sweet tasting, but again, like you and others have said, maybe that's just marketing hype. The American Chestnuts from the trees growing nearby here are amazingly delicious. It must have been awesome before the blight hit the U.S.

 

[cavey]

OK, thanks. From what I read about Dustans I thought they were sweet tasting, but again, like you and others have said, maybe that's just marketing hype. The American Chestnuts from the trees growing nearby here are amazingly delicious. It must have been awesome before the blight hit the U.S.

I think it has been mentioned before but check into the american chestnut association - there have been 2 different paths to addressing the issue one was back breeding the other was a genome approach both have made leaps and are now producing disease free american chestnuts (mostly american in the case of the back breeding) nuts are more an more available especially if you become a member. I think its the only real way to get american chestnut trees that are going to last. The loss of the chestnut was likely thee greatest environmental disaster to hit north america.

 

[j-bird]

Just as an FYI for those interested I got a notice from Chestnut Hill that they will be making fall deliveries to Rural King stores 9/19 thru 9/23.

Sweetwater, TN - 7 gallon size (15)
Wytheville, VA - 7 gallon size (15)
Radford, VA - 7 gallon size (15)
Connellsville, PA - 3 gallon (50), 7 gallon (15)
Stuebenville, OH - 7 gallon (15)
New Philadelphia, OH - 7 gallon (15)
Gallipolis, OH, 7 gallon (15)
Huber Heights, OH - 7 gallon (15)
Muncie, IN - 7 gallon (15)
Frankfort, IN - 7 gallon (15)
Lafayette, IN - 7 gallon (15)
Logansport, IN - 7 gallon (15)
Niles, MI - 7 gallon (15)
Peru, IL - 3 gallon (50), 7 gallon (90)
Vandalia, IL - 7 gallon (15)
Litchfield, IL - 7 gallon (15)
Waterloo, IL - 7 gallon (15)
Owensboro, KY - 3 gallon (50), 7 gallon (15)

 

[OakSeeds]

you might enjoy this video and find it informative …….

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...55EBC0613C694CB594E555EBC0613C69&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[blueKYstream]

I subscribe to JohnSangl, UKForestry, and others on YouTube. The American Chestnut story is fascinating! I am holding out hope that the New York chestnut group (exact name slips my mind) can insert the blight resistant wheat gene to the American Chestnut. The CC grows short and wide. The American much taller and extremely fast!

 

[j-bird]

I also saw chestnuts for sale at my local store as well.....

 

[bornagain62511]

you might enjoy this video and find it informative …….

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...55EBC0613C694CB594E555EBC0613C69&&FORM=VRDGAR

Thanks! That was very good and helpful and informative

 

[Mortenson]

Dunstans for sale at RK for $60 right now. Nice 7' trees.