The folks talking about the chestnuts were mostly tree breeders, so I don't think they would confuse something in the horsechestnut group with sweet chestnuts. I did try seednuts from as far south as Virginia, and some individuals were hardy on PEI, where I'm from, but don't grow a whole lot. The same seedlot in Quebec, with the steady cold ,does much better. They don't wake up in a mild spell and lose hardiness like they do here. I sent sweet chestnuts, C dentata, to Estonia, and they survive there. Having said that though, third hand information often gets mixed up. I'll chase it for a while, and let you know if I find anything.

Please do! I bought my seedling from Grimo Nut Nursery in Ontario knowing that it was probably infected with blight, but realizing that low winter temperatures were far more of an impediment to good growth than disease in northern Alberta.

I loved my little seedling and you've inspired me to place another order next year. I'm going to try a selection of c. dentata seedlings (no hybrids!) and actually plant them in suitable spots next spring.

See if you can find a William Dyck in Calgary, as he planted seeds in 2009 or so...all pure dentatas. Why don't you get a hold of the Canadian Chestnut Council and see if anybody can send you seeds to start yourself? Seeds let you try 4 or 5 and at least 2 or 3 might have the necessary hardiness.

Well, there's a thought. I've really only had success with growing catalpa from seed in the past, but haven't tried many other species. I'll give it a shot!

The internet is wonderful, grin. One of the fellows who planted sweet chestnuts in the Calgary area got back to me. 3 or 4 people besides himself planted them from seednuts, and most got really good germination. The seedlot was from Ontario, fairly far north in their range. Most made 3 or 4 winters, then there was an especially bad winter and they all died. Sooo, they may or may not survive in your area. He did say that the Peace River area was milder than where he was. I might also suggest a more northern seedlot, to see if that can make a difference. Nova Scotia or PEI come to mind. The Morgan Arboretum in Montreal might be more hardy too, and has bearing chestnuts.

Chestnuts are really easy to start from seeds. Pop them in a tub of soil and leave them in the fridge for the winter. Start checking for little white roots after the end of Feb, then pot them like a house plant as each one makes a root. Put them out after frost time has passed. If there are some with no roots yet by the end of April, take the tub out of the fridge and keep checking them as they sprout. When you check for growig directions on line, check the location of those recommendations, as different things work well, depending on the latitude of the responce.

Here are some chestnut houseplants waiting to go out.

[img]https://s6.postimg.cc/yvuy9la6p/Ashdale_and_more_verticle_Uniacke_at_74_and_75_d.jpg[/img]

Excellent. I’m curious where this fellow is...he’s in a zone colder than Peace River?? I’m really on the edge here. I know someone who grows grapes in Fort Vermilion (a marginal 2) — and that I’d love to see — but the boreal forest surrounds our river valley and exotics outside town are, well, incredibly rare.

The Cdn Chestnut Council didn’t respond to my email — they probably thought I was spam! Do you have a nut source? I’d like to try a seed trial next year.

I may have a nut source, it's too soon to say. I'm waiting to see if any of my new grafts make pollen. The other thing is the the Canadian Chestnut Council is staffed totally by volunteers, and they may not have read the e-mails yet. I'm one of those volunteers, and get correspondence from the Maritimes. I don't know who gets Western stuff. I think nuts would be the way to go for you, as some nuts grow up to have much more dormancy and don't wake up in a mid winter warm spell. It's a numbers game, you plant lots and hope at least two have the necessary genetics. It also helps to mulch over the root zone each winter, right after freeze up.

I'll put the word out that you need a northern, high dormancy seedlot....no hybrids.

Hybrids may have more blight resistance, but they are less cold hardy. I suspect there is no blight where you are, due to there being few chestnuts or red oaks (alternate host). Many trees in the Maritimes have really good dormancy and cold hardiness, but are isolated trees without a pollinator, so they don't make any seeds.

Grafts can be made but you then have to wait till the graft grows a few years, so it can make seeds with whatever other tree you grafted it on. It might be too soon for my seed orchard, but others could be a few years ahead of me. Leave it with me a few weeks, and I'll see what can be had for you next fall.

Thanks! There are certainly no castanea specimens growing in the region. I've seen quercus ellipsoidalis for sale at a local (one hour south) nursery, but have never seen them in town, so there probably aren't many blight vectors around here. It'll be a fun experiment, although it's always going to be touch-and-go with our winters. They're long, very- to bitterly-cold, and we have a minimal annual snowpack, so it's definitely going to stress the plants, with or without blight.

Your listed annual lows are within the range of chestnut....until they aren't, those sudden minus 50 events. It will be a fun experiment. Please keep us all posted how they do.

Skyline Chestnuts in California thinks they have some trees planted in the 1800’s.

Yes, and there is a tree at Mount Uniacke planted between 1815 and 1830. (Nova Scotia) Those old trees are fun, aren't they?