How to grow horse chestnut from walnut. Grow chestnut from seeds in the Urals

Chestnut is a wonderful decorator of our gardens and an excellent healer for our souls and bodies. Why do I say that? Yes, because 15 minutes spent under a chestnut tree may well charge you with vigor for the whole day, and its fruits are unusually beneficial for health. Tasty nuts of edible chestnuts are used to prepare many different dishes, and the inedible fruits of horse chestnuts have been used since ancient times in folk medicine.

To begin with, let's clarify that the trees in parks and on city streets, beautifully blooming with candles, are a horse chestnut with inedible (but medicinal) fruits. In what follows, we will focus on the edible chestnut.

The height of the tree varies from 1 to 35 m, depending on the species and variety. It blooms very beautifully: pyramidal inflorescences will decorate the garden from late May to mid-July.

The fruits of the chestnut are enclosed in cozy shells (each with 1 to 3 nuts), protected by thorns. Chestnuts bloom and bear fruit beautifully in the gardens and parks of southern and central Russia. They prefer open, sunny places.

Chestnut trees are bright individualists. No matter how hard you try, nothing will grow under them, because the chestnut creates a very thick shadow, and its powerful superficial roots prevent other crops from developing successfully. But this disadvantage can easily be turned into a virtue. You can install garden benches under the chestnut tree, where on hot summer days it will be nice to hide from the scorching rays of the sun.

Planting chestnuts

When planting, keep in mind that a place of at least 3 m (or even more) in diameter should be allocated for each seedling. Only in this case, an adult tree will delight you with a spreading crown, abundant flowering and good fruiting. Chestnut prefers loamy leached chernozem. It is immune to winds, air pollution and is quite frost-resistant.

Planting chestnut seedlings

It is most convenient to plant chestnuts with 1-2-year-old seedlings. To do this, prepare square pits 50x50x50 cm in size. Mix the ground removed from the pits with humus and sand in the ratio: 2: 1: 1 and add 0.5 kg of dolomite flour and slaked lime; pour 200 g of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer into each hole. At the bottom of the holes, lay a drainage layer (pebbles or crushed stone, mixed with sand) of 10-15 cm.Then sprinkle it a little with soil substrate, spill the hole well with water, place a seedling in it and carefully fill the hole with soil, tamping it slightly with your hands.

When planting large chestnuts, place the root collar of the seedling 8-10 cm above the level of the planting mound. Seedlings of low and medium-sized varieties of chestnut do not need to be overestimated. Attach the seedlings to a support to avoid damage during strong winds. After planting, water the plant abundantly with warm water.

Planting chestnut seeds (in autumn)

Chestnut seeds (nuts) germinate well in the open field even without our intervention. Collect the fallen nuts in the fall and carry out the stratification procedure (cold aging). To do this, put the nuts in an open box, sprinkle with sand and refrigerate or in the basement for 10-12 days. Optimum temperature for stratification: + 5 ... + 6 ° С. Then you can place the seeds in open ground.

Loosen and spill the soil well with water, bury the nuts 5-6 cm at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other, then fill them with fallen leaves (no need to bury). That's all - the chestnut seeds are ready for wintering, and in the spring you will see green shoots, and all you have to do is thin out the seedlings, leaving the most powerful plants.

Planting chestnut seeds (in spring)

Fruits that have fallen in autumn should be covered with sand and stored throughout the winter at a temperature of +5 ... + 6 ° C, and before planting in open ground for 5 days, place them in warm water. Then plant chestnut seeds in your favorite spot in the country. With such cultivation, one-year-old chestnuts will grow by 20-25 cm in a year, and at the age of five they grow up to 3 m in height.

Fruits ripen on edible chestnut

Chestnut care

2-3 times per season, the ground around the chestnut must be loosened. Watering as needed. In the fall, the periosteal circle is mulched by 10-12 cm with fallen leaves, or sawdust. And if you want to see a spreading crown in your chestnuts, cut the upper branches of the plant by ¼ of the length in early spring.

Chestnut should be fertilized once a year - in early spring. To do this, dilute 20 g of ammonium nitrate in a 15-liter bucket, mullein (fresh manure) - 1 kg, 20 g of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer and 15 g of urea.

Types of Edible Chestnuts

In nature, there are just over 30 species of chestnut trees and shrubs. Here are several types of chestnut trees, the fruits of which are eaten.

European sowing chestnut

- a noble slender tree up to 35 m high with a regular ovoid crown. Leaves are large lanceolate, 25-30 cm long. Inflorescences are spike-shaped, light yellow. The nuts are large, enclosed in a round fluffy cocoon. Sowing chestnut is a long-liver, under favorable conditions it can live in one place for up to 500 years, and in natural conditions - even longer.

Chinese chestnut the softest

Chinese chestnut the softest- a beautiful tree up to 15 m high, with spreading branches and finely toothed leaves. Chinese chestnuts are renowned for their unsurpassed taste.

Japanese chestnut, or crenate

Originally from Japan, China and Korea. It grows quickly and begins to bear fruit early (2-4 years after planting). The fruits are the largest among edible chestnuts - up to 6 cm in diameter and up to 80 g in weight. More than 100 varieties with tasty large nuts have been developed in Japan.

Among summer residents-gardeners, horse chestnut is more valued for its decorative qualities. Its luxurious crown, strewn with lush candlesticks of inflorescences, is simply breathtaking, and you want to admire this magnificent creation of nature again and again. You can read about horse chestnut and its cultivation in the publication.

Do chestnuts grow in your country house?

Chestnut. Features, planting and care of chestnuts

First, let's decide what kind of chestnut we are talking about. If you think that chestnut and horse chestnut are "one and the same", then you are not. The fruits of chestnut and horse chestnut of different botanical families are very similar, for which they received a common name. Only in the latter, they also contain some kind of bitter substance, because of which they are not suitable for humans, although they can be used as feed for livestock.Usually, in our climate, we are talking about the cultivation of horse chestnut.

But don't despair, horse chestnut is a great tree for urban greening, even to soil salinity, it reacts weakly, and does not die on roads that are constantly sprinkled with salt in winter. And its fruits, although inedible, are widely used, including in cooking, as a substitute for coffee. So there are plenty of reasons to grow this tree.Before planting a horse chestnut in your area, you need to clearly understand what will grow in your area as a result.

Features of chestnut

The horse chestnut is a deciduous tree with a dense, broad crown. In favorable conditions, its height reaches 18-25 meters. Fan-shaped leaves consist of five or seven oblong leaves, about 20-25 cm in width, and flowers, up to 3 cm in size, are collected in inflorescence candles, 10-15 cm long. Chestnut blooms for a little more than two weeks. A in September its fruits ripen - green tricuspid thorny capsules, 6 cm in diameter, with one large seed.

Despite its southern origin, the chestnut tree is quite winter-hardy, fast-growing and unpretentious to the soil. Horse chestnut durable... Under favorable conditions, it can live up to 300 years. Chestnut is not "interesting" for pests and diseases. Mature trees tolerate transplanting well. Chestnut prefers loose, deep, moderately moist soils. But what he treats badly is hot winds - dry winds, the leaves from which turn yellow, dry up and fall off.

Chestnut is a plant so expressive that it often dictates its own conditions to us: with its appearance, the character and image of the garden changes. It looks most effective in a single fit. The chestnut tree can simply grow on the lawn, or it can become part of the composition of the patio. The use of chestnut for creating alleys is also widely practiced.

Breeding and growing chestnuts

You can try growing a chestnut seedling yourself. Breeding chestnuts is not difficult at all, but keep in mind that chestnut seeds need a long (up to 5 months) exposure in a cold and humid environment. To do this, in the fall, collect the fruits and sow them superficially on the garden bed. It has been experimentally proven that it is better to simply press the fruits into the ground, and cover the bed with foliage from the forest, or wood shavings.

It is highly likely that in the spring they sprout... To be sure, sow chestnut seeds in excess, though. Keep in mind that chestnut seedlings grow too slowly, and therefore you should not expect a beautiful and strong tree in a few years, a more or less strong tree will form only in 10-12 years.

In principle, no special conditions for growing chestnuts are needed, only high-quality care and good attitude. In less than a few years after planting, a strong and majestic tree will grow on the site, under which it will be possible to install a bench, organize a sandbox for children, place a birdhouse and a bird feeder on the trunk to make your summer cottage even closer to nature.

Planting a chestnut seedling

The easiest way to grow chestnuts is to buy a ready-made seedling in the garden center and plant it on the site. But be sure to remember that this should be a well-lit place, and besides, the tree will need a lot of space over time. So distance to others trees must be at least 4 meters. Chestnuts are planted at the same distance from each other if an alley is created. Only then will the tree have a beautiful crown.

To plant, you need to dig pit in the form of a cube with a side of about 60 cm. Horse chestnut is usually planted in a soil mixture containing turf, humus and sand. Slaked lime (100-200 g) is added to the planting pit to neutralize the acidity of the soil, and a drainage layer of rubble (10 - 20 cm) must be made to drain excess water.

Do not deepen the root neck. It is better to plant the seedling so that root collar was slightly raised (5 cm) above ground level. Over time, the soil under the seedling will be compacted, and it will drop to the desired level. Immediately after planting, a small seedling should be watered with plenty of water and strengthened with props until the tree takes root.

Chestnut care

When planting and in the next 4 days, regular and abundant watering is required. The tree tolerates drought well, but during dry periods, young plants require increased watering. Loosening is essential to remove weeds and oxygenate the soil. V First year growth, in the summer, when the side shoots grow 25-30 cm in length, they need to be cut in half.

The upper lateral shoots that have grown at the end of summer can be left unchecked. V spring shortened branches must be cut. The procedure must be repeated every year until the tree reaches the desired height. After that, you can leave 4-5 side branches for the formation of branches of the first order. If you want to grow chestnuts with a low trunk, choose the main branches earlier. After the stem is formed, it is not necessary to prune, and in case of thickening of the crown, only thin branches can be pruned.

Periodically pruning of drying out and damaged branches, cleaning the trunk of shoots. Mulching near the trunk circle with peat, peat compost and wood chips of seedlings is mandatory. Young plants are damaged during severe frosts, therefore, they require shelter for the winter up to three years.

As a rule, chestnuts are not susceptible to disease. If on the leaves spots will appear, they should be treated with Bordeaux liquid. In early spring, the plant is fed. A composition of mullein, urea and ammonium nitrate diluted in water is suitable as a fertilizer.

Chestnut pests and diseases

The most dangerous pests of chestnut are ticks. For prevention the tree should be treated with karbofos or phytover every 2 weeks. Also, special decoctions of hogweed and black henbane help to fight the pests of this tree. In order to get rid of stains on the tree, it is recommended to carry out the treatment with Bordeaux liquid or foundation.

In winter, to prevent damage to young trees by severe frosts, roots cover fallen leaves. The first two years after landing, the headquarters must be wrapped in sackcloth. When frost cracks appear, the cracks are treated with an antiseptic and garden varnish.

The handsome southern chestnut came to us from the Balkan Peninsula. Most gardeners try to decorate their summer cottage with a flowering tree that gives good shade and endures weather surprises. How to grow chestnuts from walnuts is the topic of our article.

How to grow chestnuts from walnuts

First of all, you need to decide which chestnut to grow - edible (sowing) or decorative. The fruits of a tree from the beech family are eaten. "Horse chestnut" (Aesculus) with luxurious inflorescences-candles, decorating parks, squares and streets, belongs to the sapindian family and produces inedible fruits.

Sown species are not very popular. They begin to bear fruit only after 25-30 years, they plant and grow such chestnuts with a distant prospect. "Horse chestnut" tolerates short frosts down to -35 ° С, sowing - more gentle, does not withstand cold. The cultivation and care of sowing chestnut and horse chestnut do not differ. Consider whether it is possible to grow a full-fledged tree from a shiny nut.

Growing methods

In autumn, cuttings can be cut from a chestnut branch, then planted in the country. If this is not possible, the nuts are harvested and sprouted. They are planted in two ways:

1. Directly into open ground.
2. Having grown a walnut seedling at home.

The choice of planting material

When self-collecting nuts for subsequent planting, they are carefully examined. Fruits with damage to the shell, with spots of rot are subject to rejection. When buying planting material, pay attention to the frost resistance of the selected variety.

Toothed (American), Japanese, sowing and Chinese species of noble chestnut are suitable for cultivation in central Russia. In Siberia and the Urals, it is extremely difficult to cultivate chestnuts; they choose only varieties that are highly resistant to frost, from among shrub or medium-sized ones (up to 10 m).

Remember! Frost-tolerant zoned varieties may not withstand particularly harsh winters. At best, the result will be lower yields.

Landing requirements

Chestnuts are undemanding to cultivation conditions, even poor soil is suitable for them.

Landing

You can plant chestnut fruits in the spring, after stratification at home, and in the fall - in open ground or for seedlings.

At home

The fruits collected or purchased in the fall are kept at home at a low temperature, packed in a cotton or linen bag. Plastic bags do not allow air to pass through, the seed suffocates and becomes unviable. When winter is finally established on the street, the nuts are transferred to a container, sprinkled with wet sand or sphagnum. Then the container is placed in the refrigerator until the end of February.

Important! To germinate chestnuts, it is necessary to maintain moisture, but not to "drown" the nuts in water.

By the end of winter, the fruits swell, the shell of the strongest bursts. The sprout beaks emerge from seeds at temperatures of 4–5 ° C. Nuts are immediately planted in cups 7–8 cm high with soil so that the bottom and top layer of soil mixture is at least 2 cm. Next, the seedlings are placed on a lighted windowsill, protected from direct sunlight.

The chestnuts can be planted in a permanent place when the leaves unfold. However, experienced summer residents recommend postponing, letting the tree grow stronger for a year or two at home. With this option, a cold winter is organized for the plants: the pots are transferred to a cool place with moderate lighting. In the spring they are placed on the windowsills, in the summer they are placed outdoors.

In open ground

Nuts are planted in autumn or spring, after preparing them. Algorithm for autumn planting of chestnut fruits:

1. Seed stratification. Fruits, packed in a cardboard box or wooden box, are covered with sand and put in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
2. They are planted on school beds in grooves 5–6 cm deep.
3. The grooves are poured abundantly with water, the nuts are placed in steps of 12-15 cm, and covered.

Shortly before the spring planting, the nuts are placed in a suitable container and poured over with warm water. The water is changed 1-2 times a day. Swollen fruits are planted in the grooves.

Interesting! From the advice of the summer resident: “We germinate the chestnuts like this: between the roots of large trees, where the earth is loose, we fill the fruits with fallen leaves. In the spring we find several pieces with sprouts. "

General rules for caring for seedlings

Seedling care is easy. In the first year, drying out of the soil is unacceptable, then - moderate watering and after each procedure - weeding and loosening of the soil.

Advice: "Mulching with peat, humus or tree bark will help moisture stay in the ground, keep the soil loose, and protect the plant from weeds."

Seedlings are fed only on a leaf. It is preferable to use biological agents "Mycorrhiza", "Trichodermin", "Fitosporin", which protect against pests and prevent diseases.

Change to the street

Transplanting a seed sprout to the street does not require additional knowledge and skills.

Transplant timing

The second half of May is considered optimal for transplanting for a temperate climate, when the risk of return frosts is negligible. In the south, where spring comes earlier, sprouted nuts are planted in April, focusing on the current weather. It is not recommended to plant seedlings in autumn, they do not always have time to settle down in a new place before the onset of winter.

Choosing a site and preparing a pit for planting

An adult tree has a wide crown - five or more meters in diameter, depending on age. It is recommended to allocate a spacious area for the future tree in the garden, where there are no light-loving plants at a distance of 3 m.

In the first few years, light shading and protection from the wind are desirable for young trees. Therefore, a place can be chosen, for example, among the plantings of early flowering perennials - hellebores, primroses, tulips and other bulbs. For normal development of the tree, loams with a slightly alkaline reaction are most suitable. A pit for planting a seedling is prepared as follows:

1. They make a hole with a diameter one and a half times larger than that of the seedling container, adding 10-15 cm for laying the drainage.
2. Sand and humus are added to the excavated soil to make it looser and more nutritious (2: 1). You can add a little complex mineral fertilizer.
3. For drainage, pebbles or crushed stone should be placed in a layer of at least 10 cm.
4. Pour the prepared soil mixture.

The seedling is carefully removed from the cup, taking care not to damage the taproot responsible for growth. Having placed it so that the root collar is above the surface of the earth, the hole is filled with soil and tamped. Upon completion of planting, the sprout is watered abundantly, the trunk circle is mulched with organic matter (peat, bark, wood chips, humus).

Important! For the first few days, the seedlings are covered with a paper bag to cushion the shock of changing growing conditions.

If the place chosen for the chestnut is blown by the winds, in the early years the seedling is surrounded by a low fence, and a peg-support is installed for 3-4 years.

Layout scheme

If you plan to plant a chestnut alley or picturesque groups of trees on your resting lawn, you should place the seedlings at least 4 m apart. Since caring for them under such circumstances is difficult, summer residents act differently:

• allocate space for a garden bed for growing seedlings;
• plants are planted in rows at a distance of 1–1.2 m from each other, step - 0.8–1.0 m;
• when the trees reach 2-3 years of age, they are moved to a permanent place.

On a note! Bonsai lovers grow and shape a tree in an apartment. However, this requires a spacious room. But you can try to form a chestnut in an exotic style and directly in the country.

Seedling care

Decorative and noble chestnuts are undemanding to care for.

Watering

Until the age of 5–6 years, trees need to be regularly watered, not allowing the soil to dry out, but also not swamping it. They take the water that is settled, the time is chosen taking into account their own capabilities: in the morning hours or after sunset. Regular renewal of the mulch layer will protect the trees from lack of moisture. After watering, they must loosen the ground and weed the plantings.

Top dressing

The seedlings are fed once a year. In the spring, after the snow melts, a mixture is introduced at the rate of 15 liters of water:

• potash-phosphorus fertilizer - 25 g;
• ammonium nitrate - 20 g;
• urea - 20 g.

With weak growth in the fall, you can add nitroammofosk.

Disease and pest control

For a young tree, the greatest danger is represented by fungal diseases. The main symptom of the disease is red, shrinking leaves. Treatment is carried out by spraying with Bordeaux liquid or Fundazol.

At the same time, the soil is cultivated within a radius of about a meter. The main pests that threaten young plants are aphids and spider mites. For aphids, seedlings are treated with folk remedies (infusions of garlic or onions, tansy, Caucasian chamomile) or "Fitoverm". Tick ​​prophylaxis is carried out every 2 weeks with solutions of karbofos or Fitoverma. From folk remedies, infusions of dissected hogweed or black henbane help.

Pruning and shaping the crown

The first pruning is carried out when the chestnut reaches 3 years of age. To form a lush, spreading crown, the seedling is cut to a quarter of the height. Lateral shoots are shortened. Formative pruning is carried out annually, until the crown of the desired shape is obtained. After that, broken and dry branches, frozen in winter shoots are regularly removed.

How to prepare for winter

A properly selected chestnut variety will allow it to winter without shelter. But for the first few years, teenage trees grown from cuttings or walnuts need additional protection. It consists in the following: mulching with a thick layer of peat or compost and wrapping the stem with burlap or other cloth in several layers.

On a note! If the tree trunk has suffered from frost, in the spring the affected areas are disinfected and covered with a layer of garden varnish.

Chestnut is a tall and rather powerful deciduous tree with a rounded crown. It is grown, as a rule, in parks and other recreation areas, and is used in landscape design. An adult chestnut can grow to over 10 meters in height. When the chestnuts are in bloom in spring, they look great and provide shade from direct sunlight.

Many gardeners want to decorate their garden plot with this beautiful tree, but find it difficult to choose a variety. So what kind the best way is suitable for growing in the country and how to properly care for and plant this spectacular tree?

Varieties of chestnuts for planting and their description

These powerful trees are widespread in the Caucasus, Siberia, Central Asia and grow mainly in forests. Those chestnuts that adorn recreation areas in numerous cities are inedible and call this variety horse. Visually, the decorative horse chestnut is similar to the edible one, but nevertheless it belongs to a completely different family and is so named in order to distinguish it from the edible chestnut. This variety of chestnut belongs to the horse chestnut family, while other edible species belong to the Bukovy family.

Horse chestnut is popular with numerous gardeners, thanks to its luxurious crown. But for growing at home on a small garden plot, this variety is not suitable because it requires too much free space. In addition, the horse chestnut casts a shadow, and many other plants on the site can only be grown in direct sunlight.

Some of the most common edible chestnuts that can be planted at home are:

1. American- a tree with edible fruits, luxurious crown and large thick branches. This tree reaches a height of about 30 meters. The leaves are visually similar to hemp. In the autumn season, the foliage takes on an attractive purple and yellowish tint. The American chestnut begins to bloom when the middle of summer comes. The fruits are dark brown in color and have a slightly sweet taste. In some countries, American chestnuts are considered a delicacy.
2. European- a large tree, reaching a height of more than 30 meters. This variety is also called noble and sowing. The European chestnut begins to bloom in early summer, and bear fruit in late autumn, as soon as the foliage falls. In terms of composition, the fruits are quite fatty, and the taste is sweet. In many countries, they are used to prepare various dishes.
3. Chinese softest- a short tree, reaching a height of about 15 meters. It is considered one of the most beautiful varieties of chestnut. The fruits of the Chinese chestnut are very fatty and have a pleasant taste.
4. Japanese crenate- a tree native to Japan and China. Unlike other varieties, Japanese chestnut grows quite quickly and already at 2 - 3 years old begins to give tasty and fairly large fruits.

How to grow chestnuts?

First of all, you need to determine from what to grow the tree. You can plant seedlings or use the fruit for growing. Next, you need to prepare the soil and choose a suitable place on the site for planting a large tree with a spreading crown. It is advisable to plant chestnuts in a well illuminated space and set aside a lot of free space for it, since the root system of the tree is very extensive. In the next 5 meters from the chosen place, there should not be any buildings or other landings.

In order to prevent stagnation of water and roots from beginning to rot, it is necessary to provide the tree with a suitable loose soil with good drainage. The soil should also be moderately moist.

Planting chestnuts, reproduction

You can plant a culture at home in three ways:

If the choice fell on the cultivation and reproduction of a culture from fruits and seeds, then certain rules should be observed when planting and further care. Fruit is a must withstand for about a week in a cold place, and then put them on the selected area and lightly cover them with fallen leaves. With the arrival of spring, the fruits will sprout and can be planted. It is best to plant seedlings in the autumn season, since it is during these months that they give strong shoots.

When choosing to grow ready-made seedlings, you should also follow some simple rules. First of all, you need to choose a suitable site and dig a hole in the shape of a cube. On the bottom of the pit, you need to lay out drainage, which can be used as rubble. It is necessary to water the seedling abundantly, with 3 buckets of water. The young tree should also provide support and do not remove it until the roots are strong.

Care features

In care, this luxurious tree is unpretentious and does not need frequent watering, calmly enduring drought. Unlike mature trees, young trees are more demanding for watering and need to be watered more often and more abundantly. Chestnut needs fertilizers and pruning damaged and dry branches. It is necessary to fertilize the culture in the spring, using a solution of both mullein and urea, in a ratio of 1 kg and 15 grams per 10 liters of water.

Despite the frost resistance, in the winter months it is necessary to cover young seedlings with sacking. Mature trees that have reached three years of age are more resistant to severe frosts and do not need to be covered.

Potential diseases and pests

Any variety of this picturesque tree is susceptible to certain diseases and pest attacks. Among them, it is worth highlighting the following: