Savage River State Forest Orchard
On May 27, 2021, 17 wild American chestnuts were planted in the Peapatch Lane orchard in Garrett County. These seedlings join another group of about 20 trees planted two years earlier. These seedlings are part of the Maryland Chapter’s germ plasm preservation effort that is part of TACF’s effort to develop a blight resistant American chestnut hybrid. These seedlings will require about a decade to reach sufficient maturity to bloom and have nuts. By that time the parents of these trees will likely have succumbed to the blight. Wild American chestnuts are relatively common in western Maryland, but the vast majority of these trees are small understory trees with little chance to grow sufficiently to bloom and have nuts. And the majority of the trees that do have nuts are not in easily accessible locations. By creating germ plasm orchards with better access and growing conditions than in the wild, the Chapter hopes to have an important source of wild American mother trees for the next generation of hybridization.
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Amazing work being done by the West Virginia Chapter!
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Why were they planted so close together?
We love helping students get excited about, and involved in, the American chestnut tree!
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Save this for when you plant your chestnuts! All you need is a deep pot, well-draining soil, and proper seed orientation for success. 🌱
Want to learn more about growing chestnuts? Visit this link to learn more: tacf.org/growing-chestnuts/
#planting #growing #americanchestnut #PlantingSeason #explore
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I appreciate the effort, but you’re just planting a tree that will die young.
Another way is put out a bunch of chestnuts, walnuts, acorns etc and let the squirrels plant them (they won't eat them all)!
Where do you get the American chestnuts?
I highly recommend checking out this article by Robert Foster, in which he reminisces about the time he helped save a large, standing American chestnut tree. He also shares an older article that tells the full story of the tree and the effort to preserve it. The original piece, published in American Forests magazine, is titled “Saving Something of Value” by Herbert E. McLean and is copied below his introduction.
Click the following link to check it out: rfoster.substack.com/p/one-big-tree
#americanchestnut #nature #explore #fighttosave #story
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