# Anyone had any luck growing Chestnut trees from seed?



## andiplus8 (Nov 6, 2009)

I was given 4 chestnuts ready to plant. I looked up how to plant them and got too many different answers. I'm going to just go out and pop them in the ground like any other seed I guess. 
Has anyone tried growing chestnut trees from seed? Or any nut tree for that matter? Will chestnuts do well in SE OK? 
Any opinions or ideas will be helpful. Thanks


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## andiplus8 (Nov 6, 2009)

OOPS sorry, I put this in the wrong place!! Could someone please delete this for me or tell me how? Or just move it to the right place for me? lol


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

Plant 'em all and let God sort it out... seems to work real often! :thumb:


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## andiplus8 (Nov 6, 2009)

arcticow said:


> Plant 'em all and let God sort it out... seems to work real often! :thumb:


LOL I guess that's what I'm gonna do!


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## Dandelion Acres (Sep 27, 2010)

We do it all the time with butternuts....about a 60% success rate. Plop em in and let em go....


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

I've sprouted my own chestnuts from store-bought nuts. They need to overwinter in the cold before they will sprout in the spring (vernalization). I didn't plant mine in the ground because of rodent problems. I've had every single nut eaten by ground squirrels that way. However, they did just fine in a 5 gallon plastic pot that had a hardware cloth cap on it.

Get them in the ground (or a pot) now, so they can be exposed to cold weather. Then they'll start to sprout in the spring. Note that most chestnuts are NOT self fertile and two different trees will be needed for nuts to form. Two different trees sprouted from two different seeds will accomplish this. Also, the nuts the seedlings produce will NOT be exactly like the parent seed, but a hybrid between the parent and the pollinizer.

Chestnuts like acidic soil and will benefit from an application of ironite fertilizer once in the ground. I've also sprayed them with a light mist of .5% Ferrous sulfate to correct iron deficiency. Most chestnuts like being in zones 5-8, so they should like being in Oklahoma unless they are planted in a spot with alkaline soil.


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## andiplus8 (Nov 6, 2009)

Thank you so much for that information!! That is what I was hoping for. 
Now I know what to do with them!


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2010)

They are not self fertile? I wonder how my tree does it with no others in the area. Maybe they are pollinating with the oaks. Hehehe, they are cousins.


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## 10ecn (Mar 12, 2010)

My dad had great success, just sticking them in the ground. I've had much luck with walnuts, by soaking them, and letting them freeze.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Well guys, I just shelled out(excuse the pun) a few dollars for the hugest chestnuts I have ever seen (Imported from Italy) to try to plant using the inspiration of this thread, Thanks!!


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## andiplus8 (Nov 6, 2009)

LOL Good luck!! (to both of us!)


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