We source our seed each fall from the top-performing trees of some of the best Chinese chestnut orchards in the Midwest. This ensures that the trees you buy have the highest chance of producing high yields of top-notch nuts. Our nursery might be new on the block, but the orchards that we get our seed from are certainly not!
BARE ROOT PLANTS
WE *DO* SHIP BARE ROOT PLANTS. Bare root chestnut are 12-24″. Bare root plants must be ordered in multiples of 25.
POTTED PLANTS
WE DO *NOT* SHIP POTTED PLANTS. Potted chestnut are grown in 4″x4″ square pots that are 9.5″ tall, specifically selected to develop a good root system on the plants. Potted must be ordered in multiples of 12.
Chinese chestnuts: Seed from a collection of multiple mother trees
Empire Elite
Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Empire Chestnut Company in Carrollton, Ohio.
Iowa Invincible
Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Red Fern Farm in Wapello, Iowa.
Michigan Magnificent
Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Winkel Chestnut Farms in Coopersville, Michigan.
Ohio Outstanding
Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Wintergreen Tree Farm in Mantua, Ohio.
PQ-F1s
Mixed seedlings of a collection of trees that are full-sibling offspring of Peach x Qing. These trees are further flanked by grafted Peach and Qing trees.
Chinese chestnuts: Seed from specific mother trees (i.e. "half-sibs")
Qing
Seedlings of Qing. Qing (pronounced “ching”) is currently the standard for comparison among Chinese chestnuts. It produces an extra large nut with a dark mahogany color, an unusually glossy luster, and exceptional flavor and keeping qualities. Cold hardy to at least zone 5a.
Peach
Seedlings of Peach. Peach is a reliable bearer of extra-large nuts. This is one of the few varieties that never over-bears. The nuts are fuzzy, like a peach.
Ace
Seedlings of Ace.
Auburn Super (AU-Super)
Seedlings of Auburn Super. Auburn Super produces the largest sized nut of any commercial quality Chinese cultivar (Extra Large). Cold hardy to at least zone 5a. Nut quality is good. May occasionally overbear, producing a smaller sized nut.
Gideon
Seedlings of Gideon. Gideon is a cold hardy, regular heavy bearer of high quality, large to extra large nuts. Gideon is a particularly fast growing chestnut tree in IA. It is exceptionally good as a parent tree and as a companion for Qing.
Liu
Seedlings of Liu.
Sandra
Seedlings of Sandra.
Resilient
Seedlings of Resilient. Resilient Is a Red Fern Farm top selection that is a reliable, heavy bearer of M-XL nuts. This was the only tree (out of 1200 trees) at Red Fern Farm to bear a normal crop of nuts in 2019 after a very wet and cold winter/spring.
Hong Kong
Seedlings of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is one of the top performers at the University of Missouri's HARC trial.
Hybrid chestnuts
Luvall's Monster
Seedlings of Luvall’s Monster. Luvall’s Monster is an American hybrid crossed with good Chinese cultivars to make super cold-hardy seedlings that bear medium to extra large sized, Chinese-type nuts. Though they can be as much as twice as productive as Chinese chestnuts, they are pollen-sterile, so they need good pollenizers nearby. Luvall’s Monster is a hybrid chestnut, and as a hybrid it will be much more variable in terms of size and growth from. Its fruiting will be similar to the Chinese except that they may start bearing a year or two sooner. Good for zone 4b areas.
BadgerQing
Seedlings of Red Fern Farm top trees that were a cross Badgersett Research Farm (Canton, MN) seedling pollinized by Qing. **Pollen sterile.**
Large Badger
Seedlings of Red Fern Farm top trees that were seedlings from Badgersett Research Farm (Canton, MN) with M-L nuts.
Lorain
Seedlings of Lorain.
Szego
Seedlings of Szego.
Very American
Seedlings of a Red Ferm Farm selection which is a seedling from badgersett Research Farm (Canton, MN). The mother tree is very vigorous, has an upright growth form, and very small nuts. It is nearly indistinguishable from a pure American chestnut.
