The Ashland Orchard is over 100 acres of chestnut seedlings whose mothers are primarily from the best performing trees in Bob Stehli’s Hiram, OH Orchard. This planting contains the second and third generation of trees from Bob Stehli’s breeding project, and it is the cutting edge of chestnut breeding in the US. No one outside of Wintergreen Tree Farm is allowed to collect seed from individual trees in this orchard yet so this mix is the only way we are able to propagate from parents in this planting. It is hard to overstate the genetic gains made in this breeding project and this is the newest material available. There will certainly be seedlings from this block that will outperform named cultivars.

These seeds come from a block of outstanding trees at Empire Chestnuts in Ohio. The area includes grafted cultivars and a seedling trial from highly selected Chinese and Chinese-type parents. An important quality of this grove is its genetic diversity. Most nut trees are like humans in the sense that they are 'outcrossers.' This means that there is a much higher likelihood of producing very strong and healthy offspring when you have two parents that are not closely related. The trees in this block come from a broad genetic background, many were from seeds passed along to Greg Miller from the observation and selection by James Nave on his chestnut expeditions. Now that we have observed this seed lot for a few years we can see that they become beautiful young seedlings with above average vigor. Early reports from other cultivators have mentioned that they are both precocious and productive. Despite the fact that these seedlings do not come from a named parent, they have the potential to outperform many named cultivars. Many of the trees bore nuts amidst the worst spring freeze in over 30 years.

Seeds are sourced from the invaluable chestnut breeding orchard planted by Bob Stehli of Wintergreen Tree Farm in Ohio. The orchard began with 4,425 trees from a diverse array of lineages that showed the most promise at the time. Reliable, quantitative, and thorough assessments whittled the trees down to 400, creating Hiram Orchard, an orchard with exceptional nut qualities, high productivity, high disease resistance, etc. This orchard is arguably the most extensive and thorough selection process of chestnut hybrids in North America. Additionally, their offspring have had the most extensive progeny testing ever done on chestnuts in the US. This leads us to believe these seedlings will produce a very high percentage of excellent orchard trees. The Stehli Elite Mix seedlings come from the 57 most consistent heavy bearing parents in the already exceptional 400 trees that remain in the orchard. These trees are an essential addition to any chestnut planting, and can thrive in zones 5-8 and are one of our strongest recommendations for trialing in zone 4. Many of our recently named selections are from the 57 most conststently heavy bearing trees from this orchard.

Tree of the North: Most consistently productive chestnut under 50 years old that we have ever seen.

This tree is easy to pick from the crowd. She is so large that it looks like she could have been planted a decade earlier than the nearly 400 other trees in the orchard. Not only is she unmatched for size and vigor, but she has a very upright architecture that bodes well for dual purpose plantings that hope to get some timber as well as chestnut production. Her structure, growth rate, and hardiness is assumed to come, in part, from having some American genetics. This tree doesn’t seem to show complete immunity to anything but strong resistance to everything. She has had blight for many years that seems to have never really affected her. She also exhibits a fascinating trait in relation to Asian gall wasp in that its leaves are generally all that are targeted. Put differently, when an infestation comes through, there are only a handful of leaves that are lost rather than whole branches dying off. Where Tree of the North really displays her status as a true outlier is consistent productivity. At age 15 she produced roughly 200 lbs! Now at the age of 27 this tree consistently produces over 300 lbs. To put this in perspective, many mature orchard trees that are hailed as productive can’t produce over 100 pounds annually. Her biggest downfall is that her nut size is not consistent. Some years she produces nuts that are considered extra large (20/lb) other years she produces somewhat small nuts (60/lb.) They peel well, store well, and are really delicious. Despite the obsession with extra large nut size in many chestnut grower circles, Tom Wahl, of Red Fern Farm, says he sells more small sized chestnuts than he does extra large, and medium size is by far his bigges seller. Wintergreen Tree Farm and Empire Chestnuts said the same thing about their nut sales. So with pollen from many trees that show more consistent medium/large nut size all around Tree of the North, we think this is one of the most important parents for increasing productivity in chestnut orchards and breeding projects.

Turtle Party is a great example of why data based selection and progeny testing is essential for effective breeding. The tree does not look like anything special. It is on the smaller side and not particularly vigorous or outlandishly productive in any given year. However, it is extremely consistent. It consistently produces a decent crop of beautiful medium/large size nuts (40/lb) year after year. It has never been hit hard by phytophthora root rot, chestnut blight, blossom end rot, asian gall wasp, and always has very healthy dark green foliage. Most notably, it has earned the #1 spot in the progeny tests. In other words, it is the parent that has produced the highest percentage of precocious and productive orchard trees. Planting seedlings from Turtle Party offers a degree of confidence in the productivity, and thus financial viability, in a planting that you cannot find anywhere else.

Ace is:

Open growth habit

Productive

easy peeling medium sized nuts

James Nave writes: "ACE" is a possible American, Chinese, European hybrid. It might also have some Japanese genetics. I lost the original tag on this seedling many years ago. It might be descended from some of the Canadian Gellatly trees. Nuts are variably sized from medium to large. Nuts peel very easily and have good flavor. So far, Ace has shown no susceptibility to blight in the eastern US. It appears to be very resistant to phytophthora as well. It is a very vigorous tree with heavy productivity. Nuts tend to keep setting as long as the temperature is warm. It is pollen sterile and is being used in some breeding programs. Seedlings tend to be very vigorous and often produce large nuts.

Amy is a Greg Miller selection (72-400) from a 1972 planting of C. mollissima seedlings (Carrollton, OH), which is the same planting that produced 72-76, ‘Gideon’, and ‘Peach’. Its mother was acquired from Ackerman Nursery, Bridgman, MI, in 1957. ‘Amy’ displayed greater cold hardiness than most other C. mollissima trialed in Carrollton, OH. It breaks bud relatively early in the spring (in Ohio). It consistently bears high yields. DNA markers reveal that it is approximately one-eighth Japanese, which is likely contributed by its unknown father (unpublished data). Its Japanese ancestry provides some explanation for its high yield and early phenology. The cultivar’s nuts (small to medium) have an excellent flavor and peel well. ‘Amy’ matures earlier than ‘Eaton’ and ‘Sleeping Giant’. Ramets at HARC produced first and mature yields 7 and 9 years from grafting (1998). The average nut size was ≈12 g during the early years of UMCA trials, but it decreased to 10 g or less with mature bearing. Blossom end rot was observed on ‘Amy’ in New Franklin, MO, in its 2013 crop. Mature yields varied moderately (2006–09), except for the complete crop loss during a double frost in Spring 2007. ‘Amy’ performed similarly in UTC trials (Metaxas, 2013).

Sourced from Revord, R. S., Nave, J. M., Revord, R. S., Nave, J. M., Miller, G., Meier, N., Webber, J. B., Gold, M. A., & Wahl, T. (2021). Descriptions of Chestnut Cultivars for Nut Production in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. HortScience, 56(11), 1315-1324. from https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16090-21

Gelatly Sweet is:

Consistent heavy producers of nuts

Wide opening burr where nuts fall free

Early producer

Nuts are big and store well, Peels well

Very consistent nut size

Giddy Up is an exceptional Gideon seedling. Very consistent heavy bearing qualities. Unlike most cultivars, this tree does not overbear, meaning she produces an extremely consistent nut size and shape in the same year and from year to year. The nuts are large, beautiful dark color with quite a bit of pubescence. The pellicle falls off very easily when peeling and has a delicious sweet and complex flavor. Gideon is known for being an exellent mother and this is one of the best Gideon seedlings we have ever evaluated.

In a year with pervasive leaf pests including japanese beetle and shothole leaf miner, the foliage on this tree was in the top 4% of good health

This is Greg Miller’s (Empire Chestnuts) description of Hansen: “In 1983, I planted numerous seeds obtained from Norm Hansen in SE Iowa. One of these seedlings has grown into a tree that I’ve named ‘Hansen’, which has unusual and interesting traits. It is a tall, “timber-type” tree with an open, tiered branching structure that I associate with high productivity. Indeed, it has been a productive tree over many years, but garnered special attention this year since it bore a huge (probably too huge) crop when its neighbors were frozen out. It has been absolutely free from gall wasps when its neighbors were heavily infested. It’s blight free, and maintains healthy foliage, being relatively unaffected by potato leafhoppers and other leaf-feeding insects. Its nut characteristics are predominantly Chinese, but its leaves, vigor, and growth habit indicate some hybrid ancestry, probably including Japanese, and maybe even American. On the downside, its nut size is widely variable, from small to very large depending on crop load. And, the nut flavor is bland – nothing objectionable, just sweet and almost flavorless. It’s these nut qualities that have kept this tree from moving very high on my list. But it’s other redeeming characteristics combined with its production of over 100 lb of nuts this year, means I have a lot of seed that should be planted, especially by those interested in dual-purpose trees (nuts and timber); its offspring seem to maintain an upright timber-type growth habit. It is surrounded by (pollenized by) unrelated trees with better nut flavor.”

This description was written in 2021 when Empire Chestnuts had the worst late frost in 30 years. Producing over 100lbs in a year like that is really impressive. in 2023 this tree produced ~300 lbs, a yield shared by no other tree in this age range besides Tree of the North.

ImCo is named as a shortening of ‘Improved Colossal’. Out of nearly 400 Colossal seedlings planted at Hiram this is by far the best one. In fact it is the only Colossal seedliyg left at Hiram. She is a consistently productive, complex hybrid, with great foliage health. The nuts begin dropping towards the later half of the early season. The nuts have a somewhat variable size but peel well and are tasty. Medium sized spreading orchard type tree. A good option for those looking to plant chestnuts for flour. Bob Stehli (founder of Wintergreen Tree Farm) said the most productive seedling he has ever seed was the daughter of ImCo. However, he cut the tree down due to the fact that the nuts dried too quickly. This is not a desirable trait for fresh eating orchards but a very desirable trait for flour orchards. Not all offsprins have this trait. The nuts on ImCo can have some internal kernel breakdown (IKB) and Blossom End Rot (BER or Chestnut anthracnose) but ImCo’s offspring have not exhibited this issue. Furthermore, several members of the chestnut growing community have put forth the belief that BER and IKB is likely due to a boron deficiency, not a genetic issue.

In a year with pervasive leaf pests including japanese beetle, asian gal wasp, and shothole leaf miner, the foliage on this tree was in the top 4% of good health in the orchard.

Very early, very consistent super heavy production, great foliage health, beautiful central leader, lowest level of Blossom End Rot (BER or chestnut anthracnose). Large, delicious, easy peeling nuts. One of our favorites for eating fresh. Earliest ripening tree in all of Wintergreen Tree Farm’s orchards. Medium sized tree with more of a conical shape then the dome-like shape of most orchard type trees. This is one of our favorite selections from the Hiram orchard.

In a year with pervasive leaf pests including japanese beetle and shothole leaf miner, the foliage on this tree was in the top 4% of foliage health

Fall 2022 some burrs did not open wide upon hitting the ground, may have been due to drought.

Fall 2023 this trait was not an issue

Liddington Orange is:

Mid-sized orchard tree

Multi-trunked

Early

Consistent nut size

Peels well

Sweet flavor

Bright orange nut color

Wide opening burrs where nuts fall free from the burr, easy to collect

Greg Miller of Empire Chestnuts in Ohio in zone 6a planted an orchard of seedlings whose mothers were in an orchard of exclusively Peach and Qing grafted trees. The seed that grew these trees came from this seedling orchard. Some of the trees in Greg Miller’s Peach x Qing seedling orchard are outperforming their grafted parents, and they bore a crop in the worst frost year in 30 years (2020). These are highly productive, consistent, early frost tolerant seedlings.

Early, tasty, good foliage, heavy bearing, medium sized tree

Drops free from burr

R7T2 is: Extremely vigorous and productive tree with extremely healthy foliage, bark and branches.

Wide opening burr where the nuts fall free

Variable nut size, medium sized nut observed in a drought year,

Not super sweet flavor

Seems to dry quickly, Possibly a high productivity flour parent

Sleeping Giant is: a arge tree with upright growth and strong central leader

Consistent bearing

Good for cold climates

Our Select Orchard Blend is a mix of diverse seedlings that we will custom tailor to your farm or orchard based on your climate, planting objectives and our thorough knowledge of the seedling parents. Most of our customers prefer this cost-effective option. Please fill out this form for this option.