Chestnut trees---preorder for summer 2025-----
Parent Tree and Variety Mix Descriptions
Ruddy’s Reliable: Seedlings from highly productive trees at Margaret Ruddy’s farm in North English Iowa. The parent trees are seedling of Mossbarger, Qing, Gideon and Peach. Ruddy’s Reliable seedlings are 2nd generation selected trees from named varieties. All parent trees produce large-extra large nuts.
Olivia’s Oversized: Seedlings from Large to Extra Extra- Large nuts from high quality trees at Olivia’s Orchard in Southeast Iowa. These are mostly 2nd generation selections seedlings from Mossbarger, Gideon, Peach and Qing, Chinese genetics with some possible small percentages of American.
Badger Series: Seedlings of a variety of Chinese X American tree from Badgersett farm in Minnesota. These trees will have a little more cold-hardiness potential then full Chinese seedlings and are great to try if you are anywhere in north zone 5a or 4b. (pollen sterile?)
Stehli Select: Seedlings from the best selected trees of thousands of high-quality seedling trees planted at Robert Stehli’s farm in Ohio. Small amounts of European and Japanese genetics possible in these seedlings. They do rigorous grading and culling so all that’s left (including pollen parents) are highly productive trees.
Seedlings of Mossbarger: Mossbarger is likely pure Chinese, produces good flavored nuts, offspring seem to do very well.
Seedlings of Peach: Peach is a pure Chinese selection from Ohio, named for slightly fuzzy medium-large nuts.
Seedlings of Szego: Szego is a complex hybrid of Chinese, Japanese and possibly chinquapin. It produces massive nuts and sometimes the burs can contain up to seven nuts. At Olivia’s Orchard we’ve noticed about 5% of Szego seedlings to have some blight susceptibility but other seedlings are growing vigorously.
Seedlings of Auburn Super: Auburn Super is a Chinese chestnut from Auburn University. Large, late ripening nuts.
Seedlings of Resilient: Seedlings of the Red Fern Farm rockstar tree, a reliable bearer of large nuts that bore a full crop in 2019 when almost no other trees in their entire orchard had any chestnuts.
Seedling of Lady Luvall: Lady Luvall is a seedling of Luvall's Monster growing at Olivia’s Orchard. It is the earliest bearing tree of the season with large to extra-large nuts.
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Chestnut trees are started outside after the last frost in spring and sold in 4x4x9 inch pots. The trees are ready to be planted once the roots are starting to grow out of the bottom of the pot. Trees will be 12-36 inches tall at time of sale.
Chinese chestnuts prefer well-drained slightly acidic soils (5.5-6.5) and full sun. Protect your young tree from rabbits and deer with a tree tube or wire cage. Grass is big competition for young trees, provide your tree with at least 3x3ft of grass/weed free area with landscape cloth, cardboard, mulch or herbicide. Water your new tree in the pot before planting and after planting with 1qrt-1/2 gallon. Mulching reduces the need for sequential watering. Plant your tree so the stem is the same level to the ground as it was to the soil in the pot. Slide the whole root mass out gently and do not shake off any of the growing medium- plant the entire 4x4x9 inch cuboid.
I will email or call you when your trees are ready to pick up (July or August 2024) and you will have 3 weeks from then to arrange a time with me to pick up your trees at my farm at 3151 F52 Trl Parnell Iowa. Please plan on transporting your trees inside the cab of a vehicle- they will not do will in an open pick up bed. If you're getting less then 16 trees please bring some 5 gallon buckets or equivalents to transport your trees in.
If for some reason I cannot fill your order, you will be refunded in full before October 1st, 2024.
Parent Descriptions
Superior Seedlings: Seed was collected from select seedling trees that grow alot of large and delicious fruit but aren't specific varieties.
Grafted Variety Seedling Mix: Seed came right out of fruit from grafted trees- some of the parent trees include Shenendoah, Mango, Tallahatchi, NC-1, Iowa Golden and more.
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Pawpaw seedlings of superior selected seedlings and from well known grafted parents. All the parents of these seedlings produce a lot of big delicious fruit and pawpaws tend to be somewhat similar to their parents.
Pawpaw trees are started in the early spring and grown in 2.75x2.75x9inch pots. The trees sold when they when the root starting to grow out of the bottom of the pot and the trees are 6-9 inches tall, usually sometime between June and September. These are very small trees, they need protected from critters, mowers and full sunlight (they need partial shade). I recommend using a 2.5ft tree tube or a wire cage if in a shady area. Pawpaws are a taproot tree and I believe the earlier they get in the ground the more they can develop a deep and healthy tap-root. Grass is big competition for young trees, provide your tree with at least 3x3ft of grass/weed free area with landscape cloth, cardboard, mulch or herbicide. Water your new tree in the pot before planting and after planting with 1qrt-1/2 gallon. Mulching reduces the need for sequential watering. Plant your tree so the stem is the same level to the ground as it was to the soil in the pot. Slide the whole root mass out gently and do not shake off any of the growing medium- plant the entire 2.75x2.75x9 inch cuboid.
2 trees are required for pollination, plant 5-15ft apart. Don't leave these trees in full sun even for a few minutes. I will email or call you when your trees are ready to pick up (August or September 2024) and you will have 3 weeks from then to arrange a time with me to pick up your trees at my farm at 3151 F52 Trl Parnell Iowa. Please plan on transporting your trees inside the cab of a vehicle- they will not do will do well in an open truck bed.
If for some reason I cannot fill your order, you will be refunded in full before October 1st, 2024.