Hong Kong

BRIEF:
Excellent flavor and an early drop. Notable for carrying some of the distinctly Chinese flavors you rarely find in Chinese chestnuts grown in this country.

DETAILED:
Hong Kong is a Michael Nave selection out of California that has performed well in the University of Missouri cultivar trials, alongside Jenny, Payne and Yixian Large. It is a pure Chinese chestnut, and Greg Miller's breeding program has planted close to four hundred of them across the country.

The nuts are moderate in size, around sixteen grams, and they drop early — among the first in the season. But size is not why anyone plants it. Nave describes Hong Kong as carrying some of the unique Chinese flavors rarely found in mollissima nuts grown in the United States. That is a pointed thing to say. Most American-grown Chinese chestnuts get described as mild and starchy, pleasant enough but unremarkable. Hong Kong is the exception people single out.

There is one more detail that made us plant it. Seedlings of Hong Kong tend to be very vigorous. Most cultivar descriptions tell you about the original tree, which is of limited use to a grower raising seedlings rather than grafted copies, as we do. A variety noted specifically for producing strong offspring is a different proposition — it means the quality carries forward into the next generation instead of stopping at the parent.

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