Chestnut sapling. Wasting my time planting out?

tampopo

Hello,

I've been a fan of chestnuts since I was young. About 5 years ago I started growing them. I need to start planting them out now.

Am I wasting my time planting them on public land where grey squirrels have been spotted? They eat the bark of saplings, right?

ta

The_Conductor

Yes- grey squirrels can be a problem eating the bark of saplings- however it would normally be a food of last resort. If in a residential area, grey squirrels are regularly known to rob bins, rob bird feeders and eat virtually any nuts/fruit they can find. They will eat apples, pine cones, rose hips and of a large number of other foods.

Providing there is a ready source of other food in the area- your saplings should be fine.

tampopo

west of and outside the War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge/along the Chapelizod bypass

I was thinking of wrapping them in that pipe lagging and enclosing it with chicken wire

The_Conductor

I don't think you're wasting your time by any means, and to be quite honest I would imagine that squirrels would be the least of your worries. I am aware of the squirrel population in the area (I was involved in the survey)- however I would imagine that people on ride-on mowers tending the grass might be a bigger issue (as per the row of Colorado fir that was mowed down on the N4 inbound just before Woodies- though of course Chestnuts would readily coppice).

If you are planting there- keep in mind that Chestnuts are strongly apically dominant- but need protection in early years. I would suggest possibly planting them in conjunction with something that would give them some shelter initially (frost shelter) but that you could kill off or remove a few years down the road (simply planting them in the middle of the birch and everything else there is probably not the best for them).

S.

tampopo

Thanks,

I'll have to look up apically though! I'll see what I can do.

What would you suggest planting with them?

The_Conductor

Errr- sorry about the apically- it means that it likes to have an open view of the sky without any overhead trees/leaves.

I'd suggest something handy to get hold of- that would be forgiving if neglected but won't grow too high- and keeping in mind that you are planting this purely altruistically on public ground........ hmmm a couple of alder planted perhaps 8-10 feet away from the chestnuts? Just a thought. Might ask a friend in work what he'd think (he did a project on broadleaves in public parks a few back).

S.

tampopo

yeah, thanks for that.

I have planted a half dozen others and they are pretty much all quite over looked. I checked on three or four of them the other day. I thought I'd planted four, but could only find three. I planted them around November 06 but they are all small. Sycamores grow like weed, even when you don't want them to. Sycamores in the vicinity are already 6'-8' high and these were self seeded.
I'll be out with the secateurs early on Sat morning, though I'll have to redo them early next year to enable them to get enough sunlight next growing season.....actually, there may not be any point in doing anything now as the three I found were practically leafless....

The_Conductor

You'd be very surprised at the difference having a clear overhead will do for them- even in one growing season. I'd secaturs the sycamore asap- if you have a little Roundup- perhaps terminally?

S.

tampopo

Yeah,

thanks for that. I must say that sycamores are less of a problem than a shrub or bush in the location. Sycamore are a hoor to kill, I know that from personal experience.

And I planted them in Nov 05, not last year. grassy ass.

t.

tampopo

S.

yes, I was out early last Saturday morning with the secateurs doing a job to open the canopy around my saplings. I'll give it another go in the spring to make sure they're alright.

I was up in the area to the west of the War Memorial Gardens during the week, there seems to be ample space for lots of trees.

There are a couple of sites with young silver birch and Rowan/mountain ash, so I could slip a few in there.

Attached are photos I took during 2005, I still have most of the trees, I have to get rid of them as they're getting too big to maintain in my back garden.

thanks for your help thus far.

t

bbam

Hi..
As a matter of interest did you do anything special to germinate the chestnuts?
I've planted about 2 dozen in the hope that some will germinate...
Cheers
bam

The_Conductor

bbam wrote:

Hi..
As a matter of interest did you do anything special to germinate the chestnuts?
I've planted about 2 dozen in the hope that some will germinate...
Cheers
bam

I'm not sure what the OP did- but chestnuts and other seeds normally germinate very well if they are cold treated- that is, if you gather them up and put them in a muslin bag (or some sort of material that can breath) and freeze them at around zero to 4 degrees for 8 to 10 weeks. Careful that you don't freeze them too cold, or you may irreparably damage them. Some enzymes in the chestnuts are activated in prolonged cold, making them more likely to germinate. Acorns/walnuts/ash samara etc- are all similar in this respect. If you have a look on google you may find some information on this.

S.

tampopo

Yeah,

I didn't do much. I planted them in shop bought compost and left them outdoors for a year. In fact, they've never been indoors. I just made sure to keep them watered in the summer, though this year I had to go around and empty the containers underneath to avoid rotting off!!!

I saw an article on the bbc gardening website commenting on the amount of peat in shop bought compost. I'll try and find it again and include a link, well, there was definitely peat in the compost I used. Not only peat, but seeds from heather, as I've got loads of little heather plants growing like mad among my chestnut saplings!

Meh, can't find the link. I'll add it later...

Ah,, got it...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/today_in_your_garden/ethical/

especially interesting was this bit...

"Many gardeners don’t realise that multi-purpose compost, unless it’s labelled ‘peat free’, contains between about 70% and 100% peat"

I suppose my bit had seeds of heather in it...

bbam

I've planted mine the same way... I have 2 french oak saplings growing, I collected the acrons in France about two years ago..

Thanks..
bam