Seed Nuts
Start Your Own Trees From Seed
A seed nut is exactly what it sounds like — a chestnut saved for planting rather than eating, collected here in our Connecticut orchard from a tree we can name. Plant it and you get a seedling, not a copy. It will carry its mother tree's character without being identical to her, which is how our whole orchard was grown.
We ship seed nuts twice a year. In the fall they go out straight from that season's harvest, unstratified, for you to chill through the winter yourself. In the spring we ship nuts we have already stratified — through their cold period, often with a root started, ready to go in the ground. Spring nuts cost more, because we have carried them through the winter for you.
Either way they are living seed. They cannot be dried, stored warm, or held over to the following year.
How To Grow Them
Fall orders start at step one. Spring orders arrive already stratified — skip ahead to step four and get them in the ground promptly.
- Keep them cold and dampThe single rule that matters. A chestnut that dries out is dead, and so is one that freezes solid. Refrigerate at 34–40°F the day they arrive.
- Stratify for two to three monthsBed them in barely moist peat, sawdust, or paper towel inside a loosely closed bag — damp, not wet, with a little air. Check monthly for mold.
- Watch for the rootMany push out a white radicle in the bag before spring. That is a good sign, not a problem. Handle it gently and plant soon after.
- Plant in springAn inch or two deep, pointed end sideways, in full sun and well-drained soil. Chestnuts want acid ground — roughly pH 5.5 to 6.5 — and will not tolerate wet feet.
- Protect them from rodentsSquirrels, chipmunks, and voles are the real threat, not the weather. Cage each planting with hardware cloth above and below ground.
- Plant more than one varietyChestnuts will not set nuts with their own pollen. Two genetically different trees within a hundred feet or so is the minimum; three is better.
Choose A Variety
We collect seed nuts from the 26 varieties below, grouped by what each one is known for. Tap any name to read about the tree and see what is available from it this season.