Read a commented profile about the sweet chestnut here with information about the flower, fruit, family and wood. You can find out how to plant chestnuts correctly here.
What is the sweet chestnut?
The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) is a deciduous tree from the beech family (Fagaceae). It is characterized by lanceolate, coarsely serrated leaves, 20-25 cm long male catkin flowers and edible fruits called chestnuts. The flowering period extends from May to July, while the fruits ripen in autumn. The trees can reach a height of up to 35 meters.
Profile
- Scientific name: Castanea sativa
- Family: Beech family (Fagaceae)
- Genus: Chestnuts (Castanea)
- Synonym: chestnut
- Origin: Caucasus, North Africa
- Area of distribution: Western and Southern Europe
- Growth type: deciduous tree
- Growth: upright, spreading wide
- Size: 25 m to 35 m
- Leaf: lanceolate, roughly serrated
- Flower: Kitten
- Fruit: Nut
sweet chestnut blossom
The sweet chestnut is a monoecious, separate-sex tree species. Male and female flowers sit in separate inflorescences on a tree. A wild chestnut blooms for the first time between the ages of 20 and 30. Grafted fruit varieties from the nursery bloom and fruit much earlier, often in the third or fourth year. The following characteristics characterize the sweet chestnut blossom:
- Male flowers: 20 cm to 25 cm long, creamy yellow, catkin-like spikes
- Female flowers: inconspicuous, greenish-yellow mini catkins
- Flowering period: May to July
Thanks to its late flowering period, the sweet chestnut is hardly susceptible to late frosts. To protect against self-pollination, the male catkins bloom before the female flowers. For a rich harvest of delicious chestnuts, a second sweet chestnut is required as a pollinator variety. The wild original species or a special pollinator variety fulfill this task equally.
sweet chestnut fruit
In autumn there is a lot of activity in Germany's forests because it is chestnut season. From October onwards, droves of spiky, five to ten centimeter fruit cups fall to the ground. Inside the thorny shells are shiny, dark brown chestnuts, also known as chestnuts. The crunchy nuts are edible and contain many he althy ingredients, as the following table shows:
| Nutrients | 100 grams each | Nutritional values | 100 grams each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 27 mg | Calorie | 200 kcal |
| Vitamin E | 1, 2 mg | Carbohydrates | 41 g |
| Vitamin B1-6 | 0, 89 mg | Fiber | 8g |
| Potassium | 707 mg | Protein | 2g |
| Phosphorus | 87 mg | Fat | 2g |
| Magnesium | 45 mg | ||
| Calcium | 33 mg | ||
| Iron | 1, 4 mg |
Peeled chestnuts can be eaten raw, cooked and roasted.
sweet chestnut leaf
In spring, the sweet chestnut creates a foliage that is worth seeing. These attributes illustrate the highly praised ornamental value of the leaves:
- Leaf shoots: end of April to beginning of May
- Leaf shape: stalked, elliptical to lanceolate, briefly pointed
- Leaf edge: serrated to coarsely sawn
- Size: 12 cm to 20 cm long, 3 cm to 6 cm wide, 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm short petiole
- Color: shiny dark green on top, slightly lighter on the bottom, distinctively veined
The sweet chestnut says goodbye to the leafless winter break with a subtle, yellow-brown autumn color.
Sweet chestnut growth
The sweet chestnut is the only European tree species of the chestnut genus within the beech family. The sweet chestnut is therefore distantly related to large domestic trees such as oaks or copper beeches, which is reflected in their majestic growth:
- Size: 25 m to 35 m
- Growth habit: high arched to rounded crown, broadly spreading
- Trunk: straight, mostly twisted
- Bark: young trunk and branches smooth, red-brown to olive green, later longitudinally cracked, brown-gray
- Wood: warm, golden brown color, easy to work with, naturally largely weather-resistant
In the 20th century, chestnut bark canker infestation caused a massive decline in populations in its natural range. It is thanks to intensive efforts in biological control and strict controls on the export of chestnut wood that the beautiful tree species was able to recover in our forests. You can find out why foresters revere the sweet chestnut so much in the following video:
Video: Chestnut against climate change
Planting sweet chestnuts
The best time to plant sweet chestnuts is in autumn. Hobby gardeners plant chestnuts to experience the miracle of growth from scratch. You can plant young trees you have grown yourself or purchased ready-made with potted balls at any time of the year, as long as the ground is not frozen. The right choice of location and expert planting technology illuminate the following sections:
Location
North of the Alps, the sweet chestnut prefers a place with a protected microclimate. In combination with a late flowering period, the southern European tree species is well-armed against late frosts, even in our latitudes. With this choice of location you are doing it right:
- Sunny to partially shaded location
- Warm and protected from cold east and north winds
- Fresh, loose garden soil
- Ideally on deep soils with a low lime content (below 20%)
- Exclusion criteria: shady locations, heavy, clayey soil and waterlogged loamy soil
Planting chestnuts
In every chestnut there is the potential for a new sweet chestnut. It is a matter of honor for the ambitious hobby gardener to grow the magnificent tree species himself from ripe chestnuts. Before you plant chestnuts, subject the seeds to a cold stimulus to overcome the natural inhibition of germination. The following short instructions explain the correct procedure:
- Don't peel the chestnuts
- Slightly roughen the bowl with sandpaper
- Soak chestnuts for 48 hours in lukewarm water (thermos)
- Fill the freezer bag with coconut soil and sand (1:1) and moisten it
- Pour in soaked chestnuts, close the bag tightly and place in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator
- Keep the substrate slightly moist for 4 to 6 weeks
Plant germinating chestnuts in a nursery pot with loose, permeable soil without peat. Care for the young trees in a bright, warm location until next autumn. Alternatively, you can plant chestnuts directly in the bed. However, direct sowing is accompanied by a high failure rate.
Planting young trees – tips
Don't miss the following tips for perfect planting:
- The root ball is placed in water before planting until no more air bubbles appear.
- The planting hole is twice as big as the root ball.
- The excavated earth is enriched with compost and horn shavings.
- For the correct planting depth, the root disc is flush with the soil surface.
- A support pole protects the young chestnut from windthrow.
After planting, water the sweet chestnut thoroughly. A mulch layer of leaves, bark mulch or bark compost is advantageous.
Excursus
Horse chestnuts are inedible
Sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts look incredibly similar. However, the two tree species are not related to each other. The horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) belongs to the soap tree family (Sapindaceae). This classification is reflected in slightly poisonous fruits that are inedible for humans. The most important visual difference: Horse chestnuts have a smooth to wrinkled fruit cup, whereas edible sweet chestnuts ripen in a spiny shell.
Care for sweet chestnut
The sweet chestnut is easy to care for. Please water a young tree regularly when it is dry. Older chestnuts have deep roots and are content with an occasional rain shower. To ensure a good supply of nutrients, fertilize in March with two to three liters of compost and 100 grams of horn shavings. Rake in the organic fertilizer a little and water again. In the following sections you will find out how you can successfully propagate a sweet chestnut and protect it from diseases with the right pruning.
Propagate
The sweet chestnut can be propagated by sowing seeds (see above) or the proven cutting method. In early summer, cut half-woody, non-flowering branches 20 centimeters long. Remove the foliage except for four leaves at the top of the shoot. Plant the cuttings either in a protected propagation bed or a pot with potting soil.
In both cases it can be expected that the genetic makeup of the wild chestnut will prevail in the young tree. In order to maintain the variety characteristics for a rich harvest of tasty chestnuts, complicated propagation by inoculation or copulation is primarily considered.
Diseases
Infestation with chestnut bark canker hovers over every sweet chestnut like the sword of Damocles. The fungal infection is one of the most aggressive diseases and, in the worst case, can lead to tree death. The unmistakable symptom is the emergence of a dark liquid from the wood. The best prevention is systematic cut care because the pathogens use open wounds as a portal of entry. The following tips provide an overview:
- Rule of thumb: cut sweet chestnuts as rarely as possible and as often as necessary.
- Thoroughly thin out the crown every two to three years in February.
- Saw thick branches in stages onto Astring.
- Remove sick, broken and dry branches.
- Cut back branches that are too close and rub against each other or cut them off at the base.
Please ensure meticulous hygiene. Scissor blades and saw blades are disinfected with spirit (€19.00 on Amazon) before and after cutting.
Popular varieties
The original species Castanea sativa was the inspiration for the breeding of countless cultivated varieties, the best-known representatives of which are mentioned by name in the following list:
- Doree de Lyon: refined chestnut produces delicious chestnuts from the 2nd year onwards, growth height 8 m to 10 m.
- Asplenifolia: delights with deeply slit leaves and delicious chestnuts measuring 2 cm to 4 cm.
- Marigoule: resistant to bark cancer, produces edible, slightly mealy chestnuts from October, growth height 25 m to 30 m.
- Annys Summer Red: Dwarf variety with a compact size of 1.5 m to 3 m, perfect pollinator variety for a rich harvest.
- Variegata: self-pollinating noble variety with white variegated leaves, white flowers and edible chestnuts.
FAQ
What is the difference between sweet chestnut and horse chestnut?
Despite numerous similarities, both tree species are not related to each other. The sweet chestnut belongs to the beech family (Fagaceae), while the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) belongs to the soap tree family (Sapindaceae). The sweet chestnut is also aptly called the sweet chestnut because its fruits are edible. In fact, chestnuts are a delicacy that you can enjoy raw, cooked or roasted. Because all parts of the soap tree family are slightly poisonous, the horse chestnut bears inedible fruit.
How much does a picket fence made of chestnut wood cost?
The weather-resistant wood of a sweet chestnut is ideal for a rustic picket fence. Demand and supply on the market are correspondingly high. We looked around for you and determined the average price level. You can get a 75 centimeter high picket fence from 8.95 euros per linear meter. Ready-made premium goods with a height of 100 centimeters and a stake spacing of 5 centimeters costs 15.45 euros per meter. If you want a 180 centimeter high chestnut fence with a privacy function, you should estimate 28.50 euros per meter.
What is the crossword puzzle solution for sweet chestnut with 6 letters?
If a crossword puzzle asks about sweet chestnut with 6 letters, there are three solutions: Chestnut, Maroni, Kaeste. Sometimes seven letters have to be entered as the solution word. In this case the answer is: Chestnuts for the Swiss version or Keschtn for the South Tyrolean version.
