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Chestnuts for the Landscape

Chestnuts

 If you like roasting chestnuts for the holidays why not add a tree or two to the landscape for a fresh supply? Chinese chestnuts and newer Dunstan hybrids grow well in central and northern Florida. Trees flower during the spring, mature their crops by fall.
Chestnut trees make excellent landscape additions growing to 20 feet tall and equally as wide. The arching branches fill with three to four inch fruits called burrs during the summer and are sure to attract attention.

Chestnuts prefer the sandy soils and can be planted as an accent near the patio or along a walkway. If you have room plant several trees at the edge of the landscape with a spacing of 20 feet between the trunks. Then follow these tips to produce your first crop for the holidays within five years.

Add a mulch to the soil starting a foot from the trunk.

Water when the surface inch of soil begins to dry to the touch.

Feed in February with a 6-6-6 fertilizer that also contains minor nutrients.

Allow the trees to develop an open arching growth habit.
Chestnuts are ready to harvest during the fall when the burrs split open and the nuts fall to the ground. Collect the nuts at least every other day and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to do the roasting.