Growing a chestnut yourself is a very tedious but doable task. As a plant lover, you will certainly enjoy watching the little tree grow. However, you have to wait 15 to 30 years for the harvest.
How do I grow chestnuts myself?
To grow chestnuts yourself, you can either sow seeds or use cuttings. Make sure the substrate is nutrient-poor and avoid excessive moisture. Young trees should be protected from frost and repotted after a year.
How do I grow my own sweet chestnut?
You can grow a sweet chestnut yourself from seeds or cuttings. Both methods are quite easy to implement. However, only one cutting guarantees you varietal purity. Avoid excessive moisture in the substrate both when sowing and when setting cuttings. The sweet chestnut reacts very sensitively to this, even as an adult tree.
Sowing the chestnut
The seeds must be sufficiently moist for sowing. It is therefore advisable to water the chestnuts for about one to two days after storage. The seeds are planted about a centimeter deep in nutrient-poor substrate and then kept only slightly moist. Successful germination is difficult when it is wet.
Chestnut cuttings
For cuttings, use freshly cut shoots with three to four sleeping eyes. The shoot is cut off at an angle at the lower end and straight at the top of the shoot and then placed in a mixture of sand and peat. If the moisture is consistent, rooting should take place quite quickly. If the first leaves appear next spring, then you can assume that the roots are developing well.
How do I deal with the young tree?
After about a year it is time to repot the seedling. The soil should be slightly acidic, as the chestnut does not tolerate lime particularly well. Be sure to protect the young plant from frost in the first year. Also think about possible late frosts. The little sweet chestnut likes to spend its first summer outside in the garden, but in a protected place.
The most important things in brief:
- sow fresh seeds immediately
- Soak dried seeds before sowing
- nutrient-poor substrate
- keep slightly moist
- Cut cuttings diagonally
- at least 3 to 4 sleeping eyes per cutting
- be sure to avoid excessive moisture
- repot at about 1 year old
- Protect young trees from frost
Tip
If you want to grow a specific variety of chestnut, then use cuttings. Seeds do not offer varietal purity.
