Chestnut – Potted (2024)

Chinese chestnuts: Seed from a collection of multiple mother trees

Badgersett Boundless

The Badgersett name is synonymous with cold hardiness in the chestnut world. Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees for nut production from Badgersett Research Farm in Canton, MN. Cold hardy to at least Zone 4b.

Empire Elite

Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Empire Chestnut Company in Carrollton, Ohio. Cold hardy to at least Zone 5b.

Iowa Invincible

Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Red Fern Farm in Wapello, Iowa. Cold hardy to at least Zone 5b.

Ohio Outstanding

Mixed seedlings of top-performing trees from Wintergreen Tree Farm in Mantua, Ohio. Cold hardy to at least Zone 5b.

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. Cold hardy to at least Zone 5b.

Chinese chestnuts: Seed from specific mother trees (i.e. "half-sibs")

Qing

Seedlings of  Qing. Qing (pronounced “ching”) is currently the standard against which all other Chinese chestnuts are compared. Nuts are extra large (~20 nuts per lb), of have good flavor, and are exceptionally sweet. Nuts are sweeter than most small Chinese nuts growing in the United States. Nuts fall early to mid-season and are shiny and dark brown. A small percentage of burs have more than three nuts, otherwise average nut size would be even larger. Nuts store very well, even for a Chinese nut. Tree is a heavy producer. This tree was planted in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s and is much smaller than an adjacent Chinese tree planted at the same time, probably because this tree puts more of its resources into nut production than into vegetative growth. Cold hardy to at least zone 5a.

Mossbarger

Seedlings of Mossbarger. Mossbarger is a 1983 selection from Kentucky. Reputed to be pure Castanea mollisima, but may be some kind of hybrid. Although the tree looks predominantly Chinese, the tree and its seedlings have unusually thick stems, branches and trunk. Nuts have very good flavor raw or cooked but some do develop splits, a quality that seems to be much more common in hybrids. 30-34 nuts per lb.

AU Homestead

Seedlings of AU Homestead. AU Homestead is one of the three Chinese chestnuts released by Au- burn University in 1980. Homestead has the longest ripening period of the three and would thus be more suitable for the home than for commercial plantings. This nut is considered by Hongwen Huang, chestnut researcher from the People's Republic of China, to be exceptionally fine flavored. In Chinese terminology, the nut apparently has a glutinous quality which is preferred in China. Technically, the glutinous quality relates to the temperature at which the nut's starches gelatinize. Nuts which gelatinize at less than 60 degrees centigrade are considered to have a glutinous quality. In lay terms  the glutinous quality is probably best described in terms of "mouthfeel". In that sense the glutinous quality represents a rich and complex texture. Although I have never seen testing done on this point, I would suspect that the better quality European and American chestnuts have a lower gelatinization temperature than most Chinese nuts, which plays a role in their excellent flavor. Many of the Chinese chestnuts which are considered better flavored by the Chinese seem to have a texture more similar to European and American nuts. And 'Homestead', like most European and even many American nuts, tastes much better roasted than raw.

Orrin

Seedlings of  Orrin. Orrin originated from an orchard belonging to Orrin Good of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Named by J.W. McKay in 1963. Nuts have good flavor. Tree has a very erect growth pattern. Probably originated with Peter Liu's 1935 importations.

Peach

Seedlings of  Peach. Peach is a reliable bearer of extra-large, easy-to-peel nuts. This is one of the few varieties that never over-bears. The nuts are fuzzy, like a peach. Peach originated as seedlings in a 1972 planting at Greg Miller’s farm in Carollton, Ohio.

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, easy-to-peel 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. Gideon originated as seedlings in a 1972 planting at Greg Miller’s farm in Carollton, Ohio.

Amy

Seedlings of Amy. Amy is a cold hardy, regular heavy bearer of high quality, large to extra large, easy-to-peel 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. Giden originated as seedlings in a 1972 planting at Greg Miller’s farm in Carollton, Ohio.

Liu

Seedlings of Liu.

QingSu

Seedlings of QingSu. QingSu is a Qing x Auburn Super seedling. It Is a true outlier for heavy production of large to extra-large nuts.

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

Hybrid chestnuts are typically cold hardy to at least Zone 5a, and sometimes even 4b.

ACE

Seedlings of ACE.

Luvall's Monster

Seedlings of Luvall’s Monster. Luvall’s Monster is a first generation seedling of two probable Japanese/American hybrids growing on the Mississippi River in Dallas City, IL. The trees are probably at least fifty years old. Good for zone 4b areas. 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. The Monster nut is at least twice as large as the nut on either parent tree. The nut has very good flavor raw or roasted and the pellicle often pops off the kernel in one piece. The nuts store but they do have a tendency to develop the "hollow heart" that is common in both Japanese and American nuts, so long term storage might not be good. The tree was grown by NNGA member Verne Luvall of Galesburg, IL. Mr. Luvall has in the past made scionwood available to other NNGA members. Grafts of the tree are being tested in Byron, GA to determine gall wasp resistance and to see whether nut size may be even larger in a longer growing season. According to Bryan Caldwell, the tree does bear well in upper New York state with good sized nuts for that area. The tree is pollen sterile. It may have some degree of blight resistance although there has been no formal testing. Tree should definitely be planted further in short season areas. The source of the Dallas City parent trees is unknown but they are most likely products of the breeding programs of E.A. Riehl of Godfrey, IL or George W. Endicott of Villa Ridge, IL. Endicott passed away in 1914 and Riehl in 1925. Both worked with American and Japanese trees. Riehl used the cultivars Dan Patch (JxA), Boone (an 1896 Endicott JxA hybrid) and McFarland (a Luther Burbank hybrid-probably AxExJxC) and originated many high quality American hybrids such as Rochester, Gibbens, Fuller, Champion, Progress and others. Dr. A.S. Colby once described some of these hybrids as combining "the size of the Japanese with the quality of the American parent." That is certainly a fair description of 'Luvall's Monster'. Other possible sources for the Dallas City trees are Benjamin Buckman of Farmingdale, IL and Dr. A.S.Colby himself, who taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana. Buckman died in the early 1920s and Dr. Colby in 1925. Both did significant work with chestnuts. Colby's best tree was later named 'Colby' by Dr. Clarence Reed of the USDA. It should be noted that the official name given to this tree by Verne Luvall was simply 'Monster', but everyone else in the chestnut community refers to it as "Luvall's Monster', in tribute to Verne.

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.

Sandra

Seedlings of Sandra.

Szego

Seedlings of Szego. Szego is a very complex hybrid, a seedling of the California hybrid Linden, which is predominantly Crenata/Pumila. The pollen parent of Szego may be the Dunstan hybrid chestnut, Revival. Szego is a very vigorous and erect tree. It grafts well on Chi nese trees, Chinese hybrids, Japanese hybrids and European hybrids. It is a heavy pollen producer. Nuts are uniformly large (12-16 per lb), but easy peeling and fairly dense, much like a Chinese nut. Nuts are sweet and flavorful, generally with more flavor than pure Chinese nuts. The nuts drop mid season (2-3 weeks after Colossal) and store very well. The tree is resistant to phytophthora root rot. It does have some blight resistance but the extent is not yet known. It has been growing for more than nine years in many blighted areas without noticeable signs of blight.

Hansen

Seedlings of Hansen.

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.

NH4 Pair

Grandchildren of Meader's NH #4, which was cold hardy and very productive.

Timber hybrid

Timber-type growth habits, but also retains good nut production. Contains lots of Meader's NH #4 and its derivatives.

Japanese

A mix of seedlings from trees that were mostly from the Korean Institute of Forestry. Good quality for Japanese trees.

Sleeping Giant

Seedlings of Sleeping Giant. Sleeping Giant is a Hybrid-Chinese x (Japanese x American) originating in 1938 at the CT Agricultural Experiment Station Sleeping Giant Plantation in Hamden, Connecticut where the original tree still stands. Excellent flavor. Upright timber form.