The chestnuts bloom beautifully and give a thick shade. Both flowers and fruits have medicinal qualities and are widely used in folk medicine.
The plant is particularly unpretentious, so caring for it will not be too much trouble.
You can decorate them with a plot in the yard or in the country. A seedling is easy to grow at home from seed. You just need to know how to plant a chestnut correctly.
What kind of tree is a chestnut, and where does it grow in Russia
There are two types of chestnuts: one is a representative of the Beech family, the second is of the Horse-chestnut family. The tree is widespread up to 45 ° north latitude, starting from the Tropic of Cancer. This tree is quite weather-resistant and can withstand hot dry weather in summer and frost in winter. Edible species are found on the territory of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory, as well as in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Horse chestnut is widespread - we see it in parks, squares and near private houses and cottages.
INTERESTING
At a distance of 8 km from the crater of Mount Etna, there is a chestnut, which entered the Guinness Book of Records under the name "Chestnut of a Hundred Horses" as a tree with a trunk of the largest coverage - 57.9 m. According to legend, a hundred knights and their hundred horses found shelter under it. ...
The legendary "Chestnut of a Hundred Horses" is truly impressive. These are several trunks growing from one root. The tree is at least 2000 years old
The height of the deciduous tree is about 50 m, the trunk has a thick bark. The length of the leaf in an adult state is close to 25 cm. White flowers are beautiful, collected in a pyramid-spike. The fruits are in the plunge - a cupped organ. The nuts themselves are pleasantly red-brown in color, called chestnut.
External characteristics
A mature chestnut tree combines many different characteristics:
- dense green crown of a round or ovoid shape (up to 20 m wide);
- high, powerful and thick trunk with brown-brown bark;
- oblong green leaves, gathered in a fan on cuttings;
- cone-shaped flowers of cream, white and pink shades (length - up to 15 cm);
- fruits, brown with a glossy coating, which are in a prickly light shell.
The chestnut height can reach from 1 to 35 meters. Each variety and species has its own boundary values for this parameter. The branches of the tree are long and densely placed, with large leaves with jagged edges growing on them. Chestnuts are especially beautiful for several weeks during the flowering period (second half of spring - early summer). At this time, the buds of the tree exude a pleasant aroma. Such an attractive sight can be observed only after at least 10 years from the moment of planting. During this period, the tree significantly increases its size (after a year, the trunk reaches 30-50 cm in diameter). The root system also grows and grows stronger, which will allow the chestnut to tolerate critical environmental conditions.
How to tell the difference between edible and inedible chestnuts
Most likely, the chestnut, the nuts of which everyone is used to picking under the tree since childhood, represents the Horse-chestnut family. Yes, there is an outward resemblance, but the fruits are not suitable for food. What does an edible chestnut look like and how is it different? In edible species, the growth is lower - 35 m, there is a noticeable difference in the shape and size of the leaves, inflorescences, fruit taste, the number of nuts in the plyus. The plyus itself is also different - we are used to seeing a green calyx with small tubercles in the horse chestnut, and in the sowing one it is brown in color and has remarkable long thorns.
Edible types of chestnuts with a photo of trees
There are 30 types of sowing chestnut, the fruits of which are eaten with pleasure.The photo below shows the most popular varieties that they prefer to plant in gardens.
The inflorescences of the European sowing chestnut give the impression of a fluffy tree
The decorativeness of the Japanese or crenate chestnut is fantastic. The photo shows the flowering of an edible variety.
Attractive and delicious Chinese softest chestnut
Edible species are outwardly different from each other: they live in different environments and conditions, therefore differences in height, size, shape of leaves, fruits, flowering and fruiting are noticeable. The cultivation of sowing chestnut and other varieties does not differ from the cultivation of a horse.
Description
An adult horse chestnut tree reaches a height of 30 meters. The crown of a tree can be formed in the form of a ball, pyramid, column, or have a weeping, like willow, shape.
Leaves are large, palmate with a dense surface and green, golden or variegated color.
Chestnut inflorescences are brush-shaped. The flowers, depending on the variety, are simple or double, painted in white, yellow, pink or red.
The flowering period begins in May, but if the temperature rises in winter, the chestnut flowers may bloom.
Fruit ripening occurs at the end of August and beginning of September. The chestnut fruit is edible and tastes like sweet potatoes. They are also used in folk medicine for the preparation of tinctures.
How the chestnut grows - the stages of growth, flowering and fruiting
The swelling of the buds begins in March, and the chestnut of almost all varieties blooms from the end of May, when stable warm days come. Delicate inflorescences are on the tree for a long time. From the beginning of their appearance around the trees, a rumble is heard from the bees that have flown in - they like this honey plant.
How beautiful the chestnuts bloom!
After flowering, plyus begins to develop with a fruit inside, which ripens by the beginning of autumn. A nutlet emerges from a cracked cupule. The remains of the calyx are scattered around the entire crown of the spreading handsome man. Gradually, all the leaves fall off, and the tree prepares for winter rest.
How to grow chestnuts from walnuts
If you want to grow a chestnut, it doesn't matter if it's an edible variety or not, the steps are the same. The main condition is to collect more nuts without damage. Fruit picking begins from the moment the plus points crack. There are two ways that will tell you how to plant walnut chestnuts.
Growing edible chestnut seeds outdoors
Cultivation of chestnuts in open ground is a natural course, according to the laws of nature. At the end of September, you need to lay the nuts in the groove at a distance of 20 cm from each other. The depth is 5-6 cm. The soil mixed with sand fills the groove with chestnuts. As soon as it snows, do not forget to powder the place of the bookmark. In the spring, it is also advisable to throw snow on this place. By mid-May, you will see a palm forest - the first small leaves of this tree are so similar to a palm tree. Until the fall, the slender next to it will grow up with proper care.
To keep watering going for the future, build a groove around the row to retain water.
Mulching the soil around the stems is useful, especially if your visit to the country is possible infrequently.
Young chestnuts need to be shaded a little in the heat
In the fall, a seedling along with a lump of earth is captured with a small pointed shovel and planted to a permanent place of residence. During the summer, there are two leaves on the tree, only by the end of August a second leaf set is noticed.
How to grow chestnuts from walnuts at home
It's time to tell you how to plant and grow a chestnut at home. If you have harvested fruits from an edible tree, then store them on an open balcony to freezing in a canvas bag.Stable cold weather has come, which means it's time to transfer the fruits to a container and cover them with wet sand.
Landing features
How to grow chestnuts? In fact, it is not difficult at all, you just need to take into account some features of the tree.
The plant grows best on moist, loose loamy soils. If you grow chestnuts elsewhere, you need to provide additional feeding. This will be the essence of caring for him.
- How to grow chestnuts in clay soil? Just add some sand to it. If this is not done, stagnation of water may appear, which will provoke rotting of the roots.
- If the soil is too loose, it must be supplemented with clay so that the structure becomes dense enough.
- When growing chestnuts in depleted soil, rotted manure and compost mixed with garden soil should be added to it. Such a soil will provide the tree with the necessary amount of nutrients.
- In autumn, a mixture of 15 grams of nitroammophoska and 10 liters of water must be added to the soil. Nutritious feeding will give the chestnuts the ability to easily endure the winter period.
When and how seedlings are planted in open ground
Young chestnut seedlings should be moved to open ground after a complete retreat of the night frost. Therefore, we must wait until the end of May. The crown of an adult tree is similar to a tent and takes up a lot of space. If you plant trees at a distance of less than 3 meters, then the crowns will be cramped, decorativeness will suffer greatly from this.
You need to contrive and choose a bright place for planting, but without exposure to direct sunlight. Humus and sand are added to the hole, and at the same time 500 g of slaked lime, a little phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. When planting, they act carefully, without damaging the delicate root. The hole is watered and a seedling is installed in it, which is sprinkled with earth and tamped around the trunk.
What problems arise when growing chestnuts
With proper care, including watering, feeding and protection, trees can still be attacked by pests and diseases. Among the enemies, a tree mite, chestnut moth, powdery mildew were seen. To prevent such misfortunes, it is worth carrying out regular sanitation. If the pests turned out to be strong and arrogant, then drugs with the lowest level of toxicity are used to protect the chestnut (remember the attractiveness of a flowering tree for bees).
Health to your young wonderful chestnut friend!
Young tree care
It should be understood that chestnuts grow slowly. Only in the fifth year of life, they will stretch for 1.2-1.5 m. But during this time they can die. Therefore, the seedlings need to be taken care of. It won't be too troublesome. They need watering, fertilization, protection from pests and diseases. The soil in the near-trunk zone must be regularly loosened and freed from weeds. Also, the plant should be pruned. And for the first few years, young chestnuts will need to be sheltered from winter frosts.
Watering and feeding
Chestnuts need to be watered regularly. Every month a bucket of water is poured under the seedling. If precipitation falls in sufficient quantity, then additional watering is not required. It can even harm by causing root rot. The soil around the tree is loosened 1-2 times a month, affecting only the surface layer of the earth. This improves aeration of the root mass and promotes more vigorous growth. Sometimes the roots grow so vigorously that they bare, peeping out of the ground. In this case, they need to be sprinkled, slightly hilling the plants.
In the summer, you do not need to feed the plant. Additives are applied no more than twice a year:
- in the spring - manure solution, urea;
- in the fall - a complex mineral composition, as well as peat or compost.
All this can be entered in one go in early spring.
Crown formation and pruning
Chestnut is a standard tree. Crown circumcision is performed accordingly. In the third year in the fall, lateral shoots that have reached a length of 30 cm are cut by a third or even half. All sections must be covered with garden pitch. The next year, the shortened twigs will need to be removed completely. They act in a similar way annually, until they get an even central trunk 2 m high and symmetrically located skeletal branches. If the crown is uneven, strong winds can knock the tree down.
Timely care of the apple tree in autumn and preparation for winter
The chestnuts formed in this way do not require any special pruning. It will be necessary to remove only dried, broken off, crookedly growing branches. Sometimes crown thinning is required - branches can break under their own weight. Young shoots are also removed, maintaining the desired shape of the tree.
How to grow a decorative chestnut tree on a windowsill from a chestnut fruit
There is no plot where you would set up your beautiful garden? No problem. Walnut chestnut grows well in apartment conditions. The fruit is planted according to the scenario described by several points above, with a mandatory stratification period in the refrigerator. In the spring, nuts are planted in different pots.
Bonsai is grown from the chestnut - for two years the tree is grown in a pot, as soon as it gains strength, it is dug up. The roots are carefully cleaned of the substrate and cut with a sharp disinfected pruner or scissors. The root system must be in the same plane.
A flat container with low sides is selected. The plant will quickly take root, but its growth will not be rapid. Bonsai is fertilized more often than the tree outdoors, and branches are regularly pruned - as a result, they start to grow short and branch strongly.
An interesting solution for the interior - mini-chestnut in the house
Flowering can occur 10-12 years after planting. Plant your chestnut gardens, admire the delicate blooms and treat yourself to healthy fruits! To help, we suggest watching a video with detailed instructions for growing chestnuts from walnuts:
Preparation of planting material
The harvested nuts must undergo some preparation before planting, this process is discussed in more detail below:
- Initially, you need to withstand the planting material in wet sand or earth. A few months before this, the soil must undergo heat treatment in the oven so that, under the influence of high temperatures, all existing fungal spores, parasites and viruses are destroyed. This measure is especially relevant when using sand, since it is the environment in which many microorganisms like to settle and multiply. This process is carried out in advance, since the soil will still need time for the re-emergence of beneficial bacteria in it and the restoration of the natural microflora.
- The container with sand or earth, in which the nuts are placed, should be placed in a sufficiently cool room, the best option is a cellar, basement or basement. If such a stratification is carried out in a city apartment, then the container can be kept in the refrigerator. These measures will stimulate growth and increase the chance of germination of the planting material, however, the container should not be placed in the freezer. If the planting is planned not earlier than spring, but the chestnut should be in such conditions all winter, the sand will need to be periodically additionally moistened.
- For stratification, you can prepare a special nutrient mixture, which is obtained by mixing forest soil and humus of plant origin in equal proportions. Additionally, it is recommended to add dolomite flour, and then thoroughly mix all the components. It is best to keep the nuts in this mixture for at least 4-5 months before planting.
- The shell will need to be softened immediately before planting, otherwise the chestnut will most likely not germinate. To do this, the nuts are placed in a container filled with clean water; you will need to check their condition daily and replace the water. As soon as the upper part of the shell acquires a sufficiently soft structure, the planting material can be considered completely ready.
