American Chestnut Restoration Project

[dave brenneman]

[pa_friendly_guy]

Yes, they come in variety and sizes. The 5 ft variety is the largest I have seen. A 6 ft size would make me a lot happier, that way I would not have to worry about the Deer. With the 5 ft size I have to worry about when it energizes for the tube up until the deer can't top it any more. I always figure at about 6 ft I am safe.

[Lollykoko]

Of course I had read this thread!

[boo]

Those little trees look nice and healthy George (do you want a banana tree? )

[pa_friendly_guy]

How is that Banana Tree doing Boo ? I feel that we have nursed it along on here for what seems like years. At some point you may just have to decided if God wants Banana Trees to grow at your place.

[boo]

[mannytheseacow]

Forgive me if I missed this elsewhere in the thread or on this site..... BUT:

Does anyone have a source for the blight resistent American Chestnuts?

I'm looking for more a commercial scale, or at least 100 trees preferrably much more, 12-18" seedlings, though I'd be interested in anything I can get.

Your help is much appreciated.

[George Collins]

Manny, the reason I drove to Virginia is because, as far as I know (and I've researched the issue a good bit) blight resistant chestnuts are not commercially available.

By driving to VA and participating in the harvest of the American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation, I was able to obtain a sizable quantity of seed. The trees these seeds produce are supposed to express blight resistance at a rate of 20%.

The other option that I am familiar with is to obtain seed from the American Chestnut Foundation. They don't sale them outright. If memory serves, if you make a $300 "donation" they will "give" you a single seed. The upshot there is that the seeds from the ACF should express blight resistance of 100%.

Of course, to produce a crop, a chestnut must be polinated by a genetically distinguishable specimen. i.e. you must have two.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I was hoping you would reply George. I wasn't sure what amount of resistance your seeds would show. I was a little surprised at only a 20% estimate. I was hoping for a bit higher. The American Chestnut Federation does have a variety that they " Expect to be 100% Blight Resistant " but it will take 20 years to prove that. I thought they were sending 5 seeds for your donation, but I could be wrong. It was Very Expensive Seeds in either case. And there was still no guarantee that their seeds are 100% blight resistant until they have a chance to grow them and see if the blight hits them in 20 years, which is about the time when the blight normally effects the trees.

[mannytheseacow]

Thanks for responding, Guy and George. I was doing some initial research and was led to the same information that you relayed, George. I was hoping something was available on the commercial scale as I see some nurseries are selling the hybrid chestnuts and such. Wow, George, I didn't realize you put such an investment into your trees.

As a follow-up, I spoke with the Illinois state forester yesterday and he had some interesting information to share. He is not supporting any chestnut planting at this time (in Illinois, that is). He believes that current research is on the verge of getting 100% or near 100% resistance in the next year or two. He does not support planting any non-native trees (Chinse chestnut or highbrids) and feels that planting sub-resistent trees is not beneficial to the overall cause.

The reason I was asking is part of my employment is organizing and conducting an annual tree sale. This is not a fundraiser but an effort to provide resource conservation leadership and provide trees at a very low cost to provide the initiative to plant. My input on this definately is incorporating permaculture ideas and endorsing native tree plantings. I was really hoping to offer chestnuts both on their own and also as part of a "fruit and nut" pack to provide wildlife and livestock forage. Ho-hum, the show must go on, but it doesn't look like American will be part of this quite yet...