Questions we get asked

A grafted tree is a clone. It is genetically identical to the named cultivar it came from. A seedling is grown from a seed produced by that cultivar, so it inherits roughly half its genetics from that known mother tree and half from whatever pollinated it. We sell seedlings only, and we never advertise them as the named cultivar.

Three reasons. Cost, because seedlings are a fraction of the price of grafted stock, which matters when you are planting fifty trees instead of five. Root systems, because seedlings grow their own natural taproot and tend to establish faster and live longer in a field setting. And genetic diversity, because a block of seedlings from good parents spreads your risk across many individuals instead of betting everything on one clone.

It means the seed came from a known, named parent tree. A Qing family seedling grew from a nut produced by a Qing tree. It is not a Qing tree, but it carries Qing genetics on the mother side. That is a real, meaningful head start compared to random unnamed seedlings, and it is why we track and label every family.

Some will be better, most will be similar, and a few will be disappointing. That is honestly how seedlings work. This is exactly why we recommend planting a group rather than one or two trees. Plant ten, cull the worst two or three in year five, and you end up with a block of proven performers.

We grow in 4 inch by 12 inch deep tree pots under lights in an insulated shed, which gives them a long head start on the season. You get a well-rooted young tree with a proper developing taproot rather than a root-bound plug. Height varies by family and season.

Not right now. We sell through farm pickup, scheduled installations, and meetup handoffs in the Des Moines metro. Keeping it local means the trees go in the ground healthy instead of spending three days in a box.

Spring. Reservations open in winter, and pickup and installation run through the spring planting window. Popular families sell out, so reserve early.

Fill out the reservation form. Tell us your goals, your county and roughly how many trees you want. We will confirm availability and hold your trees with a deposit.

Use the Find My Trees tool on the home page. Answer one question about what matters most to you and we will narrow twenty-plus seed families down to a short list. Or just send us a message describing your ground and your goals.

In Iowa, yes. An unprotected chestnut seedling in deer country is a food plot of one. Tubes protect from browse and rub, create a greenhouse effect that speeds early growth, make spraying around the tree safe, and let you find your trees in tall grass. Skipping tubes is the most common reason plantings fail.

Cattle require more than a tube. Cows will rub, push and destroy standard tube-and-stake setups. For pasture plantings we build a heavier protection setup with T-posts and welded wire cages. Tell us if cattle have access and we will quote it correctly.

For a wildlife planting, 30 to 40 feet apart is a good working number. For an orchard you are managing for harvest, 30 feet in the row with wider drive rows. Chestnuts get big. Crowding them cuts production badly.

Full sun and good drainage, without exception. Chestnuts will not tolerate wet feet and will die in ground that stays saturated. They prefer slightly acidic soil, roughly pH 5.5 to 6.5, and they do poorly in high pH soils. Sandy loam and well-drained slopes are ideal. Heavy clay bottoms are not.

Yes. Chestnuts are not reliably self-fertile and need cross pollination from another chestnut nearby. Plant at least two, and realistically at least five, within a couple hundred feet of each other. This is the second most common reason plantings fail to produce.

With good care, tubes, weed control and water in the establishment years, expect first nuts around year three to five on the precocious families and year five to seven on the rest. Neglected trees in sod competition can take a decade or never produce well.

In order: grass and weed competition, deer browse, drought in the first two summers, and planting on wet ground. Notice that none of those are about the tree you bought. Site prep and follow-up care matter more than which family you choose.

Chestnut blight is a fungal disease that wiped out the American chestnut across its native range. Chinese chestnut evolved alongside it and carries strong natural resistance, which is why Chinese and Chinese-hybrid families are the backbone of Midwest plantings. European and Japanese hybrids carry less resistance, so we recommend mixing families rather than planting all hybrids.

We chose not to plant or sell the Prolific line due to disease concerns. There are plenty of proven families that do not carry that question mark, so we would rather sell you one of those.

Only if you understand the risk. Pure American chestnut is highly susceptible to blight and will most likely become infected as it matures. We offer it for heritage and restoration interest, clearly labeled, and we will tell you the same thing in person that we say on the page. Do not build your food plan around it.

Several. Mixing families spreads disease risk, improves cross pollination, and staggers your drop window across the fall instead of dumping everything in two weeks. For a hunting property, a staggered drop is worth more than any single family.

We deliver the trees, plant them, install a tree tube and stake or a T-post and cage setup, mulch or apply weed control at the base, and mark the location. You get a planting map and a care sheet. Cattle-grade protection is quoted separately.

Central and western Iowa between Des Moines and Omaha is our home range. We will travel anywhere in Iowa if the job size justifies it and the client covers travel.

Yes, for installs. Small orders are welcome for pickup or a Des Moines meetup. Contact us with your county and tree count and we will tell you straight whether an install makes sense for you.

We guarantee healthy, well-rooted stock at handoff, and we will make it right if a tree arrives in poor condition. We cannot guarantee survival after that, because drought, mowing, cattle, herbicide drift and neglect are outside our control. What we can do is set you up correctly and tell you the truth about what your site needs.