Chinese / Iowa-proven · Seed-family seedling
Scott Family
A tough, dependable Chinese family. Not flashy. Very hard to kill.
| Species | Castanea mollissima |
|---|---|
| Seed parent origin | Chinese chestnut selection carried in Midwest orchard plantings. |
| Nut size | Medium |
| Ripening window | Mid to late season |
| Cold hardiness | Zone 5 proven in Iowa |
| Blight resistance | Strong Chinese blight resistance |
| Best for | Hard sites and late-season deer activity. |
About this seed family
Scott is the kind of family you plant on your roughest ground: exposed corners, hilltops, wind-swept edges.
Slightly later ripening than Qing, which is useful when you are trying to stretch your drop window across a longer stretch of the season.
Good insurance genetics in a mixed block.
For deer hunters. Extends your drop window later into the fall.
Straight talk. Medium nut size. Prioritize for durability, not for market grade.
What you are actually buying
This is a seedling grown from a nut produced by a named Scott Family parent tree. It is not a grafted clone and we will never sell it as one. It inherits roughly half its genetics from that known mother tree and half from whatever pollinated her, which means you get a real head start on quality plus the seedling advantages of a natural taproot, lower cost and genetic diversity across your planting.
Every tree is started in our insulated shed under grow lights and grown in a 4 inch by 12 inch deep tree pot, so you receive a well-rooted young tree with a developing taproot rather than a root-bound plug.
Plant more than one. Chestnuts need cross pollination from another chestnut nearby to set nuts. Plant at least two, ideally five or more, within a couple hundred feet of each other. Mixing seed families also staggers your drop window across the fall instead of dumping the whole crop in two weeks.
Similar families
Chinese / Iowa-proven
Qing Family
If you only plant one family, plant this one. Qing is the all-around standard: sweet, easy-peeling nuts, dependable production, and genetics that have already proven themselves through Iowa winters.
Chinese / Iowa-proven
Peach Family
Selected for flavor. If you plan to actually eat, roast or sell your crop, this is a family worth putting in the ground.
Chinese / Iowa-proven
Gideon Family
A production-first family. Chosen because the parent tree simply makes a lot of nuts, year after year.