Chestnut trees have incredibly long lifespans in comparison to many other trees. They can also grow quite tall, and provide nuts that are used for so much more than roasting on an open fire. If you’ve been thinking about growing this new tree, how do you do it?
It takes chestnut trees 3-7 years to bear nuts. If you plant this tree from a seed, it may take a little longer to see nuts produced. A healthy chestnut tree should grow about 12-84 inches per year, depending on the species. They will reach from 80 to 100 feet tall in most cases, sometimes more.
Let’s dive into the timeline of a chestnut tree, what it takes to sustain it, and what you should expect along the way. We’ll even talk about some tips for growth, maintenance, and choosing the perfect location. So, stick with us, and let’s get into it!
What is a Chestnut?
According to the USDA Forest Service, nuts are actually a type of dry fruit. They are specifically defined as dry, single-seeded fruits with a high oil content that are enclosed in a protective husk that is usually a leathery outside layer. Chestnuts fit right into this category.
In taste, these nuts are crunchy and bitter when left raw. When you cook them, though, or roast them, they become softer, sweeter, and even buttery.
Where Do Chestnuts Grow?
Chestnut trees grow in a wide range of climates, making them as versatile as they are long-lasting. The main needs of this tree are lots of sunlight and loamy soil that drains well.
You’ll find chestnut trees growing in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9. This represents the average minimum temperature that a tree can survive, in extreme winter situations. So, zones 4-9 mean that a chestnut tree can handle extreme lows of -30 degrees Fahrenheit to 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chestnut trees often grow in the eastern United States from Florida up through New England. They can also be found from the Ohio valley all the way East through the Carolinas. This chunk of the midwestern and eastern U.S. is the most common place to find chestnut trees, though they are located throughout the states.
How Quickly Does A Chestnut Tree Grow?
It is going to take some time for your chestnut tree to fully mature. You can expect it to come to maturity at 15-20 years of age, quite sometime after it has already begun producing fruit, but long before the end of its life cycle. Part of this growth rate will depend on how the tree first got established, your location, and other environmental factors.
A chestnut tree will take 3-7 years to begin producing chestnuts, and, of course, a sapling will provide you fruit much more quickly than a tree that you’ve grown from seed.
When planting a sapling, whether store-bought or propagated from an existing tree, there is less work required to establish the tree into its environment. A tree planted from seed will always take more time to fully get going. Most chestnut trees are planted from seeds, as this is an easier process than propagating.
How Long Does It Take To Grow A Chestnut Tree? Full Timeline
At this point, you might have made your decision about whether a chestnut tree seems like the right fit for you. Say you want to grow a chestnut tree, but now what to know what you should be expecting next. How should you navigate the process as it unfolds over the years?
As long as your area falls into USDA growing zones 4-9, gets even and direct sunlight, and has the right soil, it should be quite easy to grow your own tree. Most of these factors can also be mimicked if you choose to grow a tree in a container and/or indoors. You want to keep these factors in mind, along with proper maintenance, to ensure your chestnut tree’s success.
These incredible trees will do just fine when provided with the right keys to their success. So, let us walk you through the most important steps along the way to growing a healthy, productive chestnut tree.
Day 1: Finding The Right Chestnut Seed (or Sapling)
To begin, you’ll want to decide whether you want to start off with a seed or a sapling. Your experience level, what you want from your tree, and your location will play into this decision.
If you start from a seed, the process is simple. In fact, we recommend this route because of its ease when compared to propagating a sapling. So, let’s go through the steps:
Steps for Planting a Chestnut Seed:
- Gather your chestnuts from the ground, or harvest them off the tree in early October.
- Store the chestnut in a cool, dark place until you see the husk split open
- Allow the chestnuts to germinate. You should place them in a bag or bucket with holes.
- Fill the aerated container with peat moss, surrounding each individual chestnut (free from the husk at this point.)
- Store the chestnuts in a refrigerator at 32-34 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 2 months, but up to 3 years in order to properly germinate.
- Plant your germinated chestnut seed indoors during early spring, but ensure that the temperature is at least 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit
Keep in mind that this is just the initial step because you’ll end up transplanting your chestnut tree into the ground outside, or into a bigger pot indoors.
Day 1 – Day 90: Planting a Chestnut Seed Indoors in February-March, or Outdoors from May-June
As your germinated chestnut gets established in the soil and begins to form into a seedling of its own, you’ll want to plant it in a different container or perhaps even outdoors. The controlled environment of the container will help it to get established, but then it is up to you to move the seedling where you see fit.
This brings us to our next steps:
- Plant the chestnut indoors around February or March. Seeds will need to be located on a warm, sunny window sill, or in a greenhouse if you have one. So long as the temperature is 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit, you’ll be in a good position.
- Your container should be able to hold potting soil without making a mess while maintaining a high level of aeration.
If you do choose to put your young tree outdoors early on, you’ll want to wait until May or June for this step, after allowing it to get established in a warm, controlled, indoor environment. This will then let your chestnut seedling establish itself outdoors before the next cold season comes around.
Where to Plant your Chestnut Seed
According to the State University of New York, chestnut trees prefer soil that is sandy to loamy in texture, well-drained, and acidic in order to thrive. Soil that is wet, basic, or clay on a permanent basis is an immediate red flag when it comes to growing a healthy chestnut tree.
If you find yourself in the U.S. and want to find the best region to plant or confirm whether your region is suitable, you can refer to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map.
Chestnut trees prefer to grow in the USDA hardiness zones 4-9, in the temperate regions of the United States.
What is a USDA Plant Hardiness Zone?
The USDA has a map of the country’s different growing zones, so that people can see which plants best grow in which zones within the United States.
These maps define hardiness, or growing, zones across the United States which refer to the average extreme minimum temperature an area can have while sustaining a thriving tree. Since chestnut trees fall into the middle zones, they are medium-hardy and require temperate regions to thrive.
These USDA hardiness zones are divided into zones defined by intervals of 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Those zones are then further split into the letters A and B, as a way to define the higher and lower halves of the 10-degree temperature range. “A” signifies the lower 5 degrees of the range while “B” marks the higher 5 degrees.
Even if a tree can physically survive in certain extremely low temperatures, these are still extremes. You should never refer to the hardiness zones as a marker for average temperatures in an area you look to plant in. These are meant to tell you the coldest temperature range your tree can handle for short periods of time and should be adhered to as such.
The Early Months – Year 1: Watching your Chestnut Tree Get Established
The early stage, the first year or so, is a pretty vulnerable time for your tree. Pay attention to any potential dips or lulls in progress, especially when you have begun with a seed itself.
(If you decided to purchase a sapling, you may be able to avoid this part of the process as a whole.)
No matter how your tree’s life began, there is always a risk in the early stages. The tree is still finding its way, looking to establish itself, and working to adjust to things like weather, wildlife, and even human interference.
We recommend that you begin your planting process indoors, in a well-aerated container, to give your chestnut tree the best chance of success.
This will help you to establish your plant before bringing it out into nature itself. If your sapling is old enough, or large enough, though, it could go directly outdoors. That part depends on the sapling!
Year 1 – Year 2: Sustaining a Healthy Tree
At this point, you can begin to focus on your tree as a sapling, as opposed to an extremely young seedling. Regardless of your starting point, your tree is on its way to being a slightly-more-mature sapling by now.
You should expect to see some changes in growth as you prepare to transplant your tree, especially if it goes from a container to the ground outside. This is normal, as the environment will be quite change for your young tree.
Differences Between Indoor and Outdoor Growth
Inside, you will be able to control the moisture, to a degree, the temperature, and any other external factors that your chestnut tree may experience. Indoor growth, especially for a seedling and a sapling, can provide the structure a tree needs to later thrive outdoors. Or, you can keep growing your tree inside for good, if you prefer.
Outside, more elements will be just out of your control. You can pick an area with a certain temperature, humidity, and environmental factors, but that’s about it. You can’t always control what comes next for your tree and its progress.
It will likely take your tree time to acclimate if you move it outdoors after its early months or years were spent inside. Give it some time, space, and extra TLC. Your chestnut tree should adapt after a while, and will be all the better for it!
How to Transplant your Chestnut Tree Sapling in May or June
Finally, we come to our next steps in the process. So, let’s continue our list from earlier on, and see what comes after germinating and initially planting your chestnut seed:
- Chestnuts need loose, well-drained, acidic soil. They might start out best with a soil-less potting mix made of decomposed bark, but once you get to the outdoors you’ll have to work with your environment. Add some decomposed material to help maintain aeration, preserve the root ball, and keep the seed from rotting in soil that is too compact for it.
- Plant the nut ½ to 1 inch deep, flat side facing down. Soil should be kept moist and occasionally receive some fertilizer.
- Mid-May to late June is the best time to transplant, just like if you had planted the seedlings earlier on. You’ll want to introduce the seedling or sapling to the outdoors by allowing them to be placed outside in the sun and wind at increasing intervals, before fully transplanting them.
- When planting the seedling or sapling, your hole in the ground should be twice the size of the root ball. Remove the rest of the nutshell that is attached to the root, so that animals cannot pull them back up to eat the chestnuts.
Year 3 – Year 7: Chestnut Production Begins
Once your chestnut tree gets to the stage of maturity where it can begin producing fruit, chestnuts, things become pretty simple and straightforward. Now, your main concern is maintaining the tree and harvesting the nuts. This begins during years 3-7 of your tree’s life.
A tree that began as a seed may take longer than one that you bought as a sapling, or propagated from an existing tree, complex as that process may be.
Chestnuts will likely get better, and your tree will continue to be more prosperous over time. So, don’t sweat it if the first few years don’t bring you the best chestnuts you’ve ever seen.
Year 8 – Year 800 (and Beyond): A Mature Chestnut Tree Produces Nuts
No, our heading is not a typo…yes, you are reading it right.
Some chestnut trees can live up to 800 years, and certain species may have an even longer lifespan than that. As you can tell chestnut trees are incredibly long-lived and stable. The exact lifespan depends on environmental factors, nutrition, and maintenance.
One great way to give your chestnut tree a boost that will keep it going for as long as it can? Fertilizing! We’ll dive into this more below as we talk about best maintenance practices, but it is a tried and true way to support your tree throughout its life.
As your chestnut tree begins to get older, you will be getting older, too. So, do what you can to sustain your tree for future generations to come!
Does it Matter if You Grow a Chestnut Tree From a Seedling or From a Sapling?
The way that you choose to plant your chestnut tree mostly boils down to personal preference.
If you want to start from the very beginning, you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that your tree’s progress was truly organic. If you start from a sapling, you’ll have the peace of mind that your tree is already partially established, and should thrive throughout its maturing years.
Propagating chestnut trees from cuttings, which would start you out with a sapling, is actually much more difficult than just planting some chestnuts and seeing where that takes you.
If you still can’t quite decide whether you want to start from seeds or an established sapling, you should consult someone at your local nursery. Professionals in your area may have some context that you don’t and could help guide you through this initial part of your chestnut tree journey.
Can Chestnut Trees Be Grown Solely in Pots?
Yes, you can easily grow chestnuts in a container like a tree tube or another pot.
Of course, a potted chestnut tree can be great when you have a sapling but have not yet decided on a permanent location for it. The pot can end up being this tree’s lifelong home, though, too, if you prefer.
All that you need to successfully produce a container-grown chestnut tree is the right soil, an appropriate-sized pot, and the will to take care of an especially domesticated sort of tree.
Sustaining your Chestnut Tree
Chestnut trees do their very best in sunny locations, with loamy soil that drains well and has a pH between 5 and 6.5. These trees grow in a wide range of climates but do appear to thrive most in places that experience hot, humid summers.
USDA hardiness zones 4-9 are best suited to sustain chestnut trees, and this is where you should look to be if you plan to plant (or transplant) one of your own. Even, direct sunlight is key and means that the location in a yard matters just as much as the geographical location you choose to plant in.
You can begin growing your chestnut tree in a container and then, as it matures, choose to keep it in a pot or transplant it into an appropriate area. If you are unsure of what might be best for you and your tree, talk to a professional. That’s what they are there for, after all!
Water When It’s Hotter
So, watering your tree makes that big of a difference, huh? It does! Chestnut seedlings will need the most water when compared to other stages of this tree’s life because they are working the hardest to establish themselves.
As your tree gets older, it will need less water. In fact, after a couple of years, as your tree begins to mature more, you can typically let nature run its course and only water once in a while. When it’s hotter or drier out, you may need to pick up the hose a little extra.
For more detailed instructions on when and how to water, check out our watering schedule detailing how much water chestnut trees need.
If you’re worried about underwatering or, in this case, overwatering your tree, you should opt for an irrigation system. These don’t have to be industrial, like the ones you see watering fields, but instead can be perfect for your yard. We recommend the CARPATHEN Drip Irrigation System.
Prune to Evade Doom
If you want to sustain a fuller appearance and keep dead leaves from acting as an energy suck for your tree, you should prune it every once in a while. You can use shears like the gonicc 8” Professional Premium Titanium Bypass Pruning Shears.
Pruning not only helps aesthetically, but can support the key functions of your tree, its growth, and its production of chestnuts.
It’s overall quite beneficial. If you don’t feel like doing this yourself, there are plenty of professionals that would be happy to support you in this task.
Fertilize to Sustain Healthy Life
It is actually recommended that you do not fertilize a newly-planted tree right away. You should try to instead wait until its second or third season to introduce any fertilizer.
While this is something that is often referred to as a life-sustaining addition to your tree, its first year should be about focusing on establishing a root system.
Why would fertilizer hinder this? Well, fertilizers encourage trees to focus on the production of leaves and, eventually, fruit. So, wait to fertilize until roots are established.
You can use a product with an NPK ratio of 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 for best success. NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and refers to the ratio of these important elements in a product.
We recommend starting with Southern Ag’s All Purpose Granular Fertilizer for your maturing chestnut tree. It’s great because it comes in a 5-pound bag that you can easily spread around the base of the tree. Afterward, just add some extra water to help it mix into the existing soil!
That’s A Wrap!
It’s time to wrap up for now! We hope that this timeline helps you feel prepared in growing your very own chestnut trees. You’ve got this!
As a quick refresher, the timeline should look a little something like this:
- Day 1
- Pick your chestnut seed or sapling
- Year 1
- Plant your chestnut tree and watch it begin to grow
- Years 1-2
- Sustain the early growth of your chestnut tree
- Years 3-7
- Chestnut production begins and increases
- Years 8-800 (and Beyond)
- You have a mature, nut-bearing chestnut tree that is ready to be maintained
This process should be a pretty fun and exciting one, no matter how you chose to initially begin growing this tree. Frankly, you can grow the tree indoors or outdoors, in a pot or in the ground, and still get delicious chestnuts. In the end, you’ll have a result that is quite the same.
Congratulations on embarking on this latest tree journey, and thank you for allowing us to be a part of it. We’re happy to provide any guidance that we can to make things easier for you.
References
Heavren, S. (2020, Fall). The Perfect Tree: The American Chestnut Tree in American Culture, Economics, and Science in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.
Paillet, F. L. (2002). Chestnut: history and ecology of a transformed species. Journal of Biogeography, 29(10‐11), 1517-1530.
Wang, G. G., Bauerle, W. L., & Mudder, B. T. (2006, May 01). Effects of light acclimation on the photosynthesis, growth, and biomass allocation in American chestnut (Castanea dentata) seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management, 226(1-3), 173-180.
