Castanea sativa,
commonly called Spanish chestnut or sweet chestnut or European chestnut, is a
large, pyramidal-rounded to broad-columnar deciduous tree in the beech family
that typically matures to 80-100’ tall with a substantial trunk growing to as
much as 7’ in diameter. It is native to high forest areas of western Asia. Edible
chestnuts have been cultivated from this tree for human consumption since
ancient times. Today this species is grown throughout much of Europe, northern
Africa and southwestern Asia. Growth is widespread in Great Britain where this
tree was first introduced during the Roman occupation. The vast majority of
chestnuts consumed as food in the U.S. today are imported from Spanish chestnut
cultivars/hybrids commercially grown in Europe (most from Italy). Spanish
chestnut features coarsely-toothed, oblong-lanceolate, dark green leaves (to
6-10” long), each leaf having about 20 pairs of prominent parallel veins.
Leaves are slightly furry with a lighter green color beneath. Leaves turn
yellow in fall. Tiny, densely-clustered, monoecious flowers bloom in yellowish-green
catkins (each to 4-8” long) in early to mid-summer. Flowers in the mid to upper
portions of bisexual catkins are males, with a much smaller number of female
flowers appearing at the base of such catkins. Pollinated female flowers are
followed by prickly husks, each containing 3-7 brownish nuts which fall from
the tree in October. Although C. sativa has separate male and female
flowers on the same tree, these flowers are largely self-incompatible, thus
more than one tree is normally planted in order to produce nuts (assuming nut
production is a goal). Purplish-gray bark develops fissures with age. Grow in
moist, well-drained loams in full sun. Performs well in sandy soils.
Established trees have drought resistance. Large nut-producing tree. Excellent
tree for parks and large gardens. Hardy in zones 3-7.
Growing
Instructions for the Sweet Chestnut
The seeds need
to be planted when received or stored in a refrigerator until they are planted.
The seeds have a period of dormancy. They can be planted outdoors in the fall
or winter for spring germination or they can be cold stratified to simulate
winter conditions and to break their dormancy at any time of the year. 1. Soak
the seeds in water for 24 hours. 2. Put the seeds in a ziplock bag. 3. Put the
bag in the refrigerator and leave it there for 2-3 months. 4. The seeds like
moist, well-drained soil. Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand,
perlite or vermiculite. 5. Sow the seeds 1 inch deep. 6. Water the soil so that
it is moist but not wet. The seeds germinate in take 30-40 days. 7. When the
seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.
Max (verified owner) –
Very healthy seeds! Well worth it.
Mateo (verified owner) –
So far so good!
Kayden (verified owner) –
So far so good!
Tyler (verified owner) –
The product is firmly packed.
Ryan (verified owner) –
Easy to grow beautiful