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  • From: Clayton/Kim <dnclayton@monad.net>
  • To: nafex@yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: [nafex] chestnuts
  • Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 02:16:25 -0400

> Hope this doen't seem too "off list". I am ready to try again with
> chestnuts. Am disappointed with the yields I am getting from my five
> survivors. I first planted chinese chestnuts in 1986. I think there were
> 10 seedlings from Musser Forests and one grafted tree, a "Meader",
> from somewhere. All but three of the seedlings have been winter killed and
> the Meader failed as well (the first year as I recall) but the
> rootstock survives. I think it was about ten years ago that we had -20*F
> follow right on some balmy warm weather in the first week of December.
> That caught 'em before they had gone dormant and damaged those it didn't
> kill. Yes, all the trunks had been painted white; and no, I wasn't
> feeding them late in the season or anything. After that I bought a few
> seedlings from Bear Creek. Only the "Douglass" seedling survives from
> that batch.
>
> So with 5 different trees planted close together I should have good
> cross-pollination. I get lots of burs but a low percentage of kernels
> developing. Also the darn things tend to hang on the tree right into the
> winter. There are nuts out there in the tops of trees right now. What
> am I supposed to do, shoot 'em down with the shot gun?
>
> I have a large collection of pomes and prunus that I have grafted myself
> and I guess I'm ready now to try my hand at chinese chestnuts if anyone
> out there has some scion wood they think I should try. The cultivars
> mentioned in Nut Trees of North America all seem to be adapted to a more
> southern climate. Any ideas as to what I should try as rootstock? To deal
> with the incompatibility problems these things seem to have, does
> anyone want to send me some nuts to plant, then the scion wood once I have
> some seedlings growing? I'm tempted to order more seedlings from
> Musser. For one thing our climate seems to be warming up!
>
> Incidentally I have just about totally given up on theJuglans. Many failed
> Carpathians and Buartnuts. I have one beautiful big seedling
> butternut and one other seedling obtained from FEDCO (the parent tree was
> a suspected cross of Asian Juglans ) but the few nuts these two do
> occasionally produce are worthless. Have had some luck with the Corylus
> crosses. Squirrels are the problem with them of course. Also I have one
> American Chestnut obtained back in the 80's from a little nursery in
> Michigan that appears to still be disease free. I'm sure that won't last.
>
> Will appreciate any suggestions.
>
> Doug Clayton
> Southeastern NH
> formerly zone 4/5 boundary
>


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