American Chestnuts were very big trees!
Last weekend, I finally had a chance to visit a new and very exciting project. The University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners are managing an American Chestnut tree research orchard. This is the fourth such orchard in the state, part of the American Chestnut Foundation’s restoration project.
The sad story – and cautionary tale – of the demise of Castanea dentata began in 1904, with the introduction of blight from China. By 1940, 4 billion – yes, billion! – trees had been wiped out throughout eastern North America, leaving only scattered sprouts and a very few mature trees. American Chestnut trees were tremendously important to the ecosystem because of their dependable annual production of nutritious nuts and their valuable timber. The disappearance of the trees was a source of considerable hardship to the human and animal populations that depended on them.
In research plantations throughout the trees’ original range, the American Chestnut Foundation is developing blight-resistant seedlings.
An F1 hybrid
By backcrossing and incrossing American Chestnuts and blight- resistant Chinese chestnuts, and inoculating seedlings with blight and selecting the hardiest survivors, the Foundation hopes to eventually come up with a hybrid with the resistance of the Chinese and the stature of the American.
The URI Master Gardener-managed orchard is located on one acre of land, provided by the South Kingstown Land Trust. In addition to generating plenty of local interest, the project has also attracted some very important donations: a water tank, a solar-powered drip watering system (with a rain sensor!) and a fence to keep out the deer. Someone won a lawn tractor and donated that, too.
The solar watering system
The nuts and seedlings are planted 7 feet apart. Eventually there will be 260 of them in the orchard. The nuts are protected with plastic cones held closed by clothes pins, so the chestnut-crazy wild turkeys don’t get them.
I love a win-win situation, and this is definitely one of them. The Master Gardeners get to participate in an interesting and worthwhile project. The Land Trust preserves green space in a meaningful way. The community has an opportunity to get involved in an eco-friendly project. Best of all, the trees themselves have a chance to someday grow in our forests once again.
Digging RI 
What a cool project to be involved in! I love that picture of the man from old times standing in front of the giant tree, a true classic!
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Once in while, there’s some good news, and I think this is one of those times.
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4 billion?! Amazing! No, not amazing, but scary! What a good idea to restore these beautiful trees!
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It’s also scary that current pests like the Asian Longhorn Beetle could be just as destructive. I wonder if there is any way we can really protect our ecosystem from these invaders……
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Great writeup. I hope more people can get out there to see this great project.
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Hi Cynthia, what a great program, truly win win win win win. We have some very old chestnuts that my father in law had saved for good luck. They were said to bring luck as well as help arthritis pain! They are shriveled but precious. Hope this works out and the magnificent trees can once again dot the landscape.
Frances
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Do those nuts really work? Either way, I’m rooting for the trees!
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That’s cool. I think I can picture where this is too! I left you a meme award on my blog! 🙂
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Wow! Thanks Wendy. Cynthia
Sent from my iPod
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That great! I hope I get to see a forest of elms when I’m old and grey. Your work is invaluable. How do I get one to plant in my backyard?
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They are still developing the hybrids, and I think it’ll be a years before the seedlings will be widely available. So far, the project is a success, but these things happen slowly!
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