I have a chestnut tree that a coworker gave a couple of years ago that is beginning to bear. She gave me two trees at first, but one died apparently from drought or stress. I was unaware that there are several different types of chestnut trees. How do I determine which kind I have? Also, how do I go about caring for this tree and how do you get the nuts? Do they fall like pecans or is there another method?
TIA for any and all assistance
Justin
The easiest way would be to post a photo of the leaves and of the nut hull at alt.binaries.pictures.gardens.
Dave
If it has nuts it's a male tree. No nuts equals female.
First, be sure the nuts are edible. You may have a Horse Chestnut, which has lovely blooms in the spring but produces nuts that are lovely "objets" for decorating, whether in their spiny chartreuse skin or brown and polished, and not for human consumption. Kids and the less self-conscious grownups like to carry them around in their pockets like a worry stone, and I think there are games you can play with them. I once went over a low wall to pick up a few lovely specimens in Brno, and almost bumped skulls with a venerable professor who was also hunting them. zemedelec
It sure isn't an american chestnut. 99% probability it is of asiatic descent. The tree is very carefree and very drought resistant. To get the nuts, let the hull fall and soften, then step on it and drag your foot. The hull will get sheared and you will get the nuts with minimum stinging. To cook, make a cut across the chestnut and place in oven for 45 mins until the cut opens. They should be easy to peel. Eat hot.
Congratulations on owning an extreme rarity. American Chestnuts still survive here and there, in extremely scant numbers. Many survive from original trees, but when the shoots reach maturity, the blight strikes them down, only to regrow again from the original stump for another 15-20 years.
All members of the Chestnut family are monoecious, i.e. each plant has both male and female reproductive parts. There are no 'male' or 'female' chestnuts.
--beeky
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