Chestnuts, Buckeyes (or horse-chestnuts), and most acorns must be planted while still moist.
If they are permitted to dry out, they will not grow.
Seed Germination
Seeds should be gathered in September or early fall from selected trees and placed in plastic bags such as arcs used for the deep freeze.
However, the closed bags should be stored at 34° to 40° degrees Fahrenheit (refrigerator, not the deep freeze) until planting time.
Chestnuts may be kept in the refrigerator and planted in the spring when the vegetable garden is planted.
Some buckeyes, even in plastic bags, lose viability very fast and should be produced, as should the white oak and other acorns.
The buckeyes and acorns usually germinate and make a root in the fall and are then ready to grow a top when warm weather occurs in early spring.
Excellent Planting Place
An excellent place to plant is in the vegetable garden or a small spaded spot in the backyard.
The whole seeds may be planted a few inches apart and about twice as deep as their width.
If the nursery row or seedbed is kept hoed and weeded like vegetables, tree growth will be more rapid.
At the end of the first year, when the seedlings are dormant, they may be moved to permanent locations or lined out in rows until they become more extensive.
These little seedlings will usually need protection from lawnmowers and rabbits.
If a chicken wire fence is used to keep rabbits off, it should be 18″ inches higher than the deepest snow.
Aluminum foil sold at grocery stores for wrapping food can be quickly wrapped around each trunk, and rabbits will not cut through it.
If the foil is used, it should be put on in the fall before other natural food for rabbits has been frozen.
It may be removed in the spring when other raw food, such as clover. If the foil is not removed, insects may build homes under it.
Selecting Your Seed
Selecting the seed can be as much fun as growing it.
Some people carry plastic bags in the fall in case they should see a fine specimen with ripe seeds.
Although each seedling is different, it is best to collect seeds from outstanding trees just as each person is the other.
For example, the European horse-chestnut is a buckeye species with a spectacular white bloom but usually develops leaf scorch in late summer.
Occasionally a tree will be seen which has no scorch. This is the tree from which to gather horse chestnut seeds.
Perhaps someone in your town has one of the dwarf buckeyes not often seen in cultivation.
If so, it would be well to ask if you might gather the seeds to plant.
Among the lesser known dwarf buckeyes is the bottlebrush buckeye, whose white flower spike resembles a bottlebrush; the Texas buckeye, which has yellow flowers; and a red flowering known as Aesculus paria.
The oak family is legion. However, since oaks frequently hybridize among themselves, even trained botanists often have difficulty identifying some of them.
The tree that pleases you is the one to gather seeds for planting. Perhaps it has an unusual fall color, or maybe it is not often seen in your locality.
The seldom planted chinkapin oak has edible acorns. In addition to our many different American oak species and varieties, a few Asiatic, English, and cork oaks have been introduced in some communities.
Chinese Seeds
Chinese chestnut seeds may be a little challenging to find, but they can be purchased.
Its trees are most resistant to the blight, which has killed almost all of our American chestnuts.
A mature Chinese chestnut tree will be larger than a full-size apple tree and usually the same shape.
Seedling trees bear early, usually 5 years, from a planted nut, providing two or more trees are planted within insect flying distance. A lone chestnut tree makes unfilled burs.
Weevils Infestation
Acorns, and the true chestnuts from some areas, may be infested with weevils. These feed on the kernel and may eat enough so the seed does not grow.
Weevil grubs can be killed by dumping the acorns or chestnuts in a large quantity of water preheated to 120° degrees Fahrenheit and kept at that temperature for 30 minutes.
Growing Trees From Seeds
The Morton Arboretum gives this treatment to all acorns and says that unless it is done, germination is, of ten, too poor to bother with.
Since many large wholesale nurseries grow acres of the more common shade trees, the amateur with limited space should concentrate on the unusual.
It is just as much work to plant and care for poor seeds as good seeds. However, acorns, buckeyes, and chestnuts are among the most accessible tree seeds to start with if treated correctly.
For information on growing other trees from seeds, go to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C., and ask for Farmers Bulletin 1567, “Propagation of Trees and Shrubs.”
This booklet was written before the widespread use of plastics which have been such a boon to propagators in getting acorns, buckeyes, and chestnuts. It also contains information on grafting and layering.
44659 by Clarice Hickox