WSSC 3 – Seed Orchard
This is the first seed orchard planted in Maryland.
Our first planting was in 2012 – 67 BC3F2s from Thorpewood. We have made additional plantings each year and now have nearly 3000 trees planted. Many thanks to all our members and the volunteers from the University of Maryland, College Park; Montgomery College; and Prince Georges Community College. This orchard will produce the first Maryland B3F3 seed and trees.
Address:
Triadelphia Lake Rd., Sunshine, Montgomery Co.
Directions:
As a starting point, find your way to Sunshine, which is at the intersection of MD 650 (New Hampshire Ave,) and MD 97 (Georgia Ave). From Sunshine, go 1/2 mile north to a right turn on Triadelphia Lake Rd. Proceed about a quarter mile to a gate immediatly past a residential driveway. Proceed about one third mile on a rutted dirt drive to the orchard.
Contacts:
Ron Kuipers: MDTACF
Jim Benton: Washington Suburban Sanitary, Commission Watershed Manager
Mark Grzeszkiewicz: groundskeeper
Location:
Maryland Chapter Menu
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I believe I have a few resistant chestnut trees that have produced their second crop of seeds . They are descendants of those once in living in .Valley Garden Park
The American Chestnut Foundation. If we don't figure out the tree of heaven problem then we won't have anything but ailanthus altissima and your research will be a waste.
Send me few, I'll plant them
Holiday cheer is brewing! 🎄🍺 TACF staff joined Sweetbay Brewing’s Patrick Atkins in Abingdon, VA, as he demonstrated how Meadowview-ground American chestnut seeds are being used to craft a rich brown ale for our Chestnuts Roasting & Christmas Market celebration on December 13. Join us for local flavor, music, and chestnut-inspired holiday fun! #AmericanChestnut #SweetbayBrewing #ChestnutsRoasting #HolidayCheers #MeadowviewResearchFarms #AbingdonVA #ForestRestoration
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Kirk🌰🍺!
Join us tomorrow, November 21, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (ET), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat webinar.
Our special guest, Dr. Jessica Rutkoski, is a small grains breeder with a talent for explaining the fundamentals of breeding and quantitative genetics. In her talk, she will describe how modern tools such as genomic selection and high-throughput phenotyping can speed up improvement for multiple traits—and how these technologies can be effectively applied to TACF’s American chestnut breeding program. Jessica is a quantitative geneticist and leads the winter wheat breeding program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
To register, visit: tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-faster-genetic-gain/
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Will be recording be made available later for those of us who cannot attend midday?
Grab your camera and hit the trails—the American Chestnut Photo Contest is back! We’re looking for striking, creative, and unique images of American chestnut trees and hybrids.
The first-place winner will have their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine and receive a one-year TACF membership, along with a T-shirt and hat. Open until December 31, 2025
Visit tacf.org/2025-photo-contest/ for more!
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