Why chestnut trees for deer (hard mast)
Chestnuts are a premier hard mast for wildlife — high in carbohydrates and energy, and highly preferred. In central Pennsylvania, chestnuts primarily feed deer through the month of October, making them an outstanding tree to peak your property for the rut. They grow fast and produce at a young age — often dropping some nuts by year two or three.
Our chestnuts are seedlings — plant in numbers
Blue Hill chestnuts are offered as seedlings, and they require cross-pollination: plant two or more near each other (ideally more) to ensure a good nut set. Because every animal eats chestnuts — deer, turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, voles — planting in numbers is what delivers a real, huntable food source. Ryan has planted dozens on a single hillside (e.g., ~60 trees on an acre and a half) to concentrate deer at one location.
Varieties
- Fall Draw™ Chinese Chestnut — clean, productive, blight-tolerant; each tree drops on its own schedule so a planting of Fall Draw gives a variable October drop (late September into/through October). Hardy zones 2–8. Fast: a ~9-year-old tree can be ~30′ tall and ~11″ in trunk diameter.
- Northern Giant™ Hybrid Chestnut — a massive, vigorous complex hybrid: Chinese × [(European × Japanese) × American]. The parent tree survived chestnut blight and PA’s climate — 13′ circumference, ~70′ tall, 60′ crown — and drops large, sweet, very edible nuts in late September into late October. Original trees survived -20°F (zones 4b–8). Plant two or more for cross-pollination.
- Big Lucky™ Chestnut, Woodland Chestnut — additional selections (confirm zone/drop/stock on the product page).
Spacing
- ~35′ spacing is ideal for chestnuts. (At 25′, lateral limbs will start touching as trees mature.) Give them room — they become large trees.
Growing chestnuts in tree tubes
Chestnuts grow very well in tree tubes. Keep the base of the tree clean from vole/mole activity or you’ll have problems (tubes create cover for rodents). As with all tubes, protect the base with aluminum window screen and stone.
Protecting the trunk from borers
On maturing trees, Ryan paints the lower trunk with cheap white exterior paint (e.g., Valspar) mixed with Sevin dust to deter borers — you don’t want borers tunneling into a tree you’ve invested years in.
Site
- Sun: 6+ hours.
- Soil: adaptable, but prefers deep, well-drained soil; avoid wet areas.
- Tolerant of lower pH and lower fertility, but raising fertility (adequate nutrients) speeds growth and production.
Shipping restriction
Due to phytosanitary rules, we do not ship chestnut trees to Washington, Florida, or Oregon (we can ship most other states, including Idaho, properly packaged).
Key takeaways
- Hard mast that peaks your property in October; fast-growing, young-producing.
- Seedlings — plant two or more (ideally many) for pollination and to outpace all the critters that eat them.
- ~35′ spacing; keep tube bases clean; guard trunks from borers.
- No chestnut shipping to WA, FL, OR.