Sweet Chestnut Tree Growth

Description

• The deciduous sweet chestnut tree has a potential height of up to 100 feet with a 50-feet-wide crown and trunk diameter of 10 feet or more. The 8-inches-long, elliptical, oblong foliage is heavily veined and coarsely toothed at the margins. The flowers appear in the form of spiked, yellow colored catkins. The shiny brown chestnuts are enclosed in 1-inch, green, spiky capsules that are ready to harvest by late fall or early winter.

Growth Requirements

• Plant the tree in an area of full sun for best growth. Sweet chestnut tree is tolerant of acidic soil and established trees are also drought tolerant. The tree grows optimally in a well-drained, sandy soil. If young trees are not provided enough water, they are likely to remain a shrub and do not develop into tree size. Sweet chestnut is hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 7.

Uses

• The sweet chestnut provides the bulk of the edible chestnuts available in the United States. The chestnuts are used in their cooked and roasted form and have higher starch content and less oil as compared to a lot of other nuts. The tree itself serves as a shade tree in large landscapes and parks. Though the tree produces both the male and female flower on the same tree, two trees are required for pollination and adequate production of nuts.

Varieties

• Sweet chestnut trees also come in ornamental varieties that do not produce edible nuts. These varieties include albomarginata with white-bordered foliage with the variegation also extending into the leaf veins. Laciniata or asplenifolia, also known as heterophylla, features cut, feather-like foliage that has deep incision in borders that often resemble large teeth.