Devon, are you concerned with working primarily with plants native to your area, or just nut trees in general? Two very different objectives. And if the former, your starting place should be to observe and learn about the area. If the latter, then to my way of thinking, this is more a "plant collection" than an attempt to foster an actual plant community. Both worthy goals, but again, far apart from each other. Perhaps if you can tease out a bit better what it is you're trying to achieve, we can be of more help.

+om

With the exception of a couple of maples, none of those trees are native to ID and several will be borderline hardy. And a fruiting almond is unlikely to survive at all.

It will take decades to grow any from seed to a reasonable and/or fruiting size so suggest you hunt out whips or small seedlings. I'd check the ID DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) to see what they offer, although most similar agencies focus on natives only.

Otherwise, there are some decent fruit/nut growers available by mail order that may be a good place to start - Raintree and Burnt Ridge nurseries in the PNW or Stark Bros in MIssouri.

Thanks for the info, as for what my overall objective is i would like to have a edible forest. Fruits, nuts, and berries i also plan on planting other edible plants. I have always been of the opinion that if i am going to water and take care of something then it need to give me something in return (other than beauty) like shade or something to eat.

I've been doing something similar with my 1.5 acres here in Minnesota, and have had good luck with seed from Burnt Ridge Nursery out of Washington State. I've grown approximately 100 chestnuts and 200 hazels from seed over the past 3 years, and my best ones are pushing 4 ft (chestnuts) and 5 ft (hazels). I've weeded out the runts, and lost a decent percentage to our climate, but an overall majority have survived -20F winters. Plus, it's pretty inexpensive ($6-$10/lb, with 30-50 chestnuts per pound and 100+ hazels per pound).

Another place you can try is Oikos Tree Crops out of Michigan, they sell seed as well that I've had good luck with (though it's more expensive than Burnt Ridge).

Thanks for the info this will really help. Why did you start doing this, What is your end game?