Castanea spp.

Our chestnuts are selected for blight resistance, productivity, size, taste, and nutritional value. They can be planted in a production orchard, for wildlife, or in your yard as a beautiful, edible tree. Our seedlings are primarily hybrids of Chinese, Japanese and American species (Castanea mollissima, C. crenata, C. dentata). As indicated in the descriptions below, some seedlings are from known cultivars of select grafted chestnuts and some only have a single source. We source seed from Rt. 9 Cooperative, Red Fern Farm, and The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC). The source and characteristics of the hybrid mixes and cultivar parents are detailed below.

It is recommended to plant at least two chestnut trees to ensure pollination and they can be from the same parent cultivar.

• AU Super Seedling (Red Fern Farm): A Chinese chestnut (C. mollissima) selected by Auburn University with relatively large, late-ripening nuts.
• Gideon Seedling: From a 1972 planting of C. mollissima seedlings in Ohio. Gideon is known for a consistent yield of medium to large, easy-to-peel uniform nuts, as well as the superiority of its offspring. It is noted for its cold-hardiness.
• Hudson Valley Orchard Mix (Samascott Orchards): Seeds from a twenty-year old orchard of hybrid trees in Kinderhook, NY. Seedling trees were originally sourced from Route 9.
• Iowa Golden Seedling (Red Fern Farm): Seedling of Gideon. In 2020, most trees in the Red Fern planting had no crop due to a late frost, but Iowa Golden had a normal crop of nuts.
• Kaqing Seedling (Red Fern Farm): A 30+ year-old Chinese tree that reliably bears large nuts; named by Tom Wahl after the sound of an imaginary cash register collecting payment for the nuts.
• Mossbarger Seedling (Red Fern Farm): A cold-hardy, early-ripening Chinese (C. mollissima) cultivar from Kentucky that is a heavy bearer of high quality, flavorful, large nuts with good flavor.
• Peach Seedling (Red Fern Farm): From the same planting as Gideon. Known for productivity (though sometimes delayed maturation) with medium to large nuts and consistent flavor, and named for a distinct “peach fuzz” on the shell.
• Resilient Seedling (Red Fern Farm): In 2021, a year plagued by weather extremes at Red Fern Farm, Resilient was the only tree of 1,000 bearing trees that stayed healthy and put on a full crop of nuts.
• Scott Seedling (Red Fern Farm): A pure Chinese (C. mollissima) cultivar. A reliably high producer with large dark mahogany nuts.

Zone: 4-8 (Map)

Habitat: Ideally grown in slightly acidic well-drained soils. Will not tolerate high water table environments. Full sun.

Growth: 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide at maturity.

Prohibited: CA, FL, OR, UT, WA

Read Our Chestnut Blogs:

• The Historic Loss of the American Chestnut
• The Revival of Chestnuts in America
• Restoring Chestnut Culture & Cuisine in America
• How to Plant a Chestnut Tree (Video)