How to plant trees that actually live

1. Pick the right site

Full sun. Chestnuts will survive in partial shade and produce almost nothing. If you want nuts, give them open sun.

Drainage is non-negotiable. Chestnuts die in wet feet. If water stands there in spring, do not plant a chestnut there. Slopes, ridges and well-drained loam are ideal. Heavy clay bottoms are not.

Soil pH matters more than most people expect. Chestnuts want slightly acidic soil, roughly 5.5 to 6.5. They struggle badly in high-pH soils, which parts of Iowa definitely have. A cheap soil test before you plant is the single best money you will spend.

Air drainage. Avoid low frost pockets, especially for the European and Japanese hybrid families that leaf out earlier.

2. Space them like they will get big

Mature chestnuts are large, spreading trees. For a wildlife planting, 30 to 40 feet apart works well. For an orchard you plan to harvest, roughly 30 feet in the row with wider drive rows so equipment fits. Crowded chestnuts shade each other out and production falls off a cliff.

3. Plant more than one, and plant more than one family

Chestnuts are not reliably self-fertile. A single tree by itself will grow fine and set almost nothing. You need cross pollination from another chestnut within a couple hundred feet, and closer is better.

Plant at least two. Realistically, plant five or more. And mix families, because that spreads disease risk and staggers your nut drop across the fall instead of dumping it all in one week.

4. Plant it correctly

Dig a hole as deep as the root plug and twice as wide. Do not plant deep. The root flare should sit at or slightly above grade. Spread the roots, backfill with the native soil you took out, firm it down, and water it in immediately with several gallons. Do not amend the hole with rich potting soil, because that encourages roots to circle inside the hole instead of pushing into the surrounding ground.

5. Protect it before you leave the site

A tree tube goes on the same day the tree goes in, not next weekend. Deer in Iowa will find a fresh seedling fast. A 5 foot tube on a solid stake stops browse and rub, speeds early growth through a greenhouse effect, makes it safe to spray around the trunk, and lets you find the tree in tall grass next August.

If cattle can reach the tree, a tube is not enough. Cows rub, lean and push. Use a T-post with a welded wire cage wide enough that an animal cannot reach the leader over the top.

6. Kill the grass

This is the step people skip. Grass competes for water far more aggressively than most people realize and it is the leading cause of slow growth and death in young trees. Maintain a weed-free circle at least three feet across around every trunk, using mulch, fabric or careful herbicide application. Do this every year until the tree is well established.

7. Water through the first two summers

Deep, infrequent watering beats a daily sprinkle. Five gallons once a week in a dry stretch does more good than a little every day. After two seasons a healthy chestnut on a good site should be able to carry itself.

8. Be patient, then check your work

Expect first nuts around year three to five on the precocious families and year five to seven on the rest, assuming good care. Walk your planting every spring. Check tubes and cages for damage, re-clear the weed circles, and remove tubes once the trunk fills them and the tree is above browse height.