Seedlings
A Head Start On Your Orchard
A seedling is a seed nut we started for you. Same nuts, same named mother trees in our Connecticut orchard — we just did the stratifying, the germinating, and the first season of growing, so you are planting a tree instead of waiting on one.
Like the nut it came from, a seedling is its own tree rather than a copy of its mother. It carries her character without being identical to her. That is how every tree in our orchard was grown, and it is why you pick a mother tree here, not just a variety.
How To Plant Them
- Choose the site firstFull sun, moving air, and ground that drains. Chestnuts want acid soil — roughly pH 5.5 to 6.5 — and wet feet will kill them faster than anything else on this list.
- Dig wide, not deepLoosen a hole two to three times the width of the roots and no deeper. Set the tree at the depth it was growing; a buried root collar rots.
- Cage it the same dayDeer, rabbits, and voles will find a young chestnut. A tube or wire cage from the start, with hardware cloth at the base, is not optional here.
- Water through the first two summersDeep and infrequent beats light and often. Once the roots are down they handle a dry spell well.
- Mulch, but keep it off the barkA few inches of wood chips out toward the drip line, pulled back a hand's width from the trunk.
- 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.
- Give them roomThese become big trees. Forty feet apart at maturity is the target. Plant tighter for early production if you are willing to thin later.
How long until nuts? Expect four to six years from planting, a season or two ahead of a seed nut put in the same ground. Every seedling is a little different from its siblings — that variation is not a flaw. It is where new varieties come from.
Choose A Variety
We grow seedlings 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.