Tree ID & Suggestions...

[begreen]

If you've got 'em, you know we love us some pics.

This is the place. It has gone through several hands since. Some have been kinder than others. The fire picture of the fire in the bedroom fireplace is a bit scary. Back in the day the place had no central heating system. (I eventually installed an hvac system when the place sold to a Madison Ave. exec.) One winter when it was very cold we were burning 24/7 in that fireplace. It looks nice, but the hearth is supported by chestnut timbers . Around 3am smoke started filling the bedroom. The heat of a 24/7 fire had started the supporting timbers smoldering . Fortunately we were able to put it out. We never trusted that fireplace after that incident.

Still, it was a fantastic home to grow up in, in spite of its shortcomings. Summers were particularly nice with the pond in the back.

 

[Woody Stover]

This is the place

Oh my, that's gorgeous! Where is it? Did you ever fish off the upper porch?

 

[begreen]

Oh my, that's gorgeous! Where is it? Did you ever fish off the upper porch?

No, that would be a very long cast. It's in Kent, CT. He built a couple others like this during the depression.

 

[armanidog]

That is fantastic. I have not heard of that specific cross and it sounds like it is pretty successful. If you don't mind me asking, where did you purchase your trees from, were they how old were they when you purchased/ planted them, who much did they cost and how long ago did you plant them? I am a biology teacher and work with my local soil and water regularly. There might be some grant opportunities for me to not just do some planting on my property, but on some public ground in my area as a class project.

A small place in NY sells chestnut hybrids, he has a nice grove. They may do better in MI than the ones raised in FL.

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http://www.twisted-tree.net/trees/chestnut

Edit: Oh well, not allowed in MI.
"We do not ship Chestnuts to CA, WA, OR, FL, MI, LA due to quarantine restrictions"

 

[Simonkenton]

I know what you mean about Florida trees not doing well in the ice and snow. I thought the same thing.
However, the Dunstan Chestnut that Chestnut Hill sells is a cross breed of an American chestnut and Chinese chestnut.
Decades ago, a scientist named Dunstan found a healthy chestnut tree. I think it was in Ohio. So he figured that this tree must be blight resistant. So he crossed it, then crossed it again and again with Chinese chestnuts.
He wound up with a tree that is, I don't remember exactly, but about 90 percent American and 10 percent Chinese.

So, the ancestry of the Dunstan chestnut is Ohio. Furthermore, it is kind of weird that this outfit grows trees in Florida because Florida was never in the original range of the chestnut tree. A hundred years ago, the mighty chestnut forest only went as far south as north Georgia and barely made it to Atlanta. So the Florida operation is hundreds of miles south of the original range.
As for cold weather, here in the NC mountains we get a pretty good winter, we normally get a low of 1 to 5 degrees, we get a 5 inch snowfall five or six times, get about 2 feet of snow every winter. And these trees from Florida, as you saw in my post, flourish here in the NC mountains.

 

[armanidog]

I know what you mean about Florida trees not doing well in the ice and snow. I thought the same thing.
However, the Dunstan Chestnut that Chestnut Hill sells is a cross breed of an American chestnut and Chinese chestnut.
Decades ago, a scientist named Dunstan found a healthy chestnut tree. I think it was in Ohio. So he figured that this tree must be blight resistant. So he crossed it, then crossed it again and again with Chinese chestnuts.
He wound up with a tree that is, I don't remember exactly, but about 90 percent American and 10 percent Chinese.

So, the ancestry of the Dunstan chestnut is Ohio. Furthermore, it is kind of weird that this outfit grows trees in Florida because Florida was never in the original range of the chestnut tree. A hundred years ago, the mighty chestnut forest only went as far south as north Georgia and barely made it to Atlanta. So the Florida operation is hundreds of miles south of the original range.
As for cold weather, here in the NC mountains we get a pretty good winter, we normally get a low of 1 to 5 degrees, we get a 5 inch snowfall five or six times, get about 2 feet of snow every winter. And these trees from Florida, as you saw in my post, flourish here in the NC mountains.

That's good. I figured those long, cold below freezing winters in MI would wipe out new plantings in the first or second year.
I live in north central Georgia so I never thought about planting chestnuts.
I did plant some native hazelnuts, they will start producing in about 4 years. They are a shrub. It will be a race between me, the squirrels, and the deer for the nuts when they are ready.

 

[johneh]

hey are a shrub. It will be a race between me, the squirrels, and the deer for the nuts when they are ready.

Good luck with that the deer and squirrels seem to always win here.

 

[HisTreeNut]

Our neighbor gave us a huge bag of the chestnuts...gift a,look on how to cook them. Our one neigjbor prefers them roasted, the other likes them boiled.
I soon shall see which is better.

Sent from my VS835 using Tapatalk

 

[MichaelAL]

I grew up with chinese chestnuts on my folks property. Those spiny outer nut casings are absolutely what they dropped all over the ground every year. Made a real mess! Not sure where you are geographically, but every year right on the 4th of july (amazingly consistent and still going 30+ years later) they emit a very strong scent that can only be described as 'fertile'. Ask your neighbor if that happened with that tree. If so, guaranteed that is a chinese chestnut.

No idea on the bur quality of that wood though!