Chestnut: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How to plant a sweet chestnut tree?
Choose a sunny position with well-drained, acidic to neutral soil for your sweet chestnut tree. Avoid chalky ground and places where water collects. Check the space available over the long term: this tree can exceed twelve metres in height and eight metres in spread. Set planting distances according to the variety and its mature size, rather than using five metres for every tree.
Prefer planting during dormancy, in autumn or early spring, when the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Choose a healthy tree and a variety suited to your climate. If you want nuts, ask the nursery which varieties work together for pollination.
Moisten the rootball before removing the container. Dig a hole wide enough to accommodate the roots without squeezing them, but no deeper than necessary. Keep the root collar at ground level rather than burying the base of the trunk. Backfill with the excavated soil, firm gently and water to settle the soil around the roots.
Add organic mulch while keeping the trunk clear. Use a stake only if support is needed, with a flexible tie. During the first two years, check soil moisture in dry weather and keep competing weeds away from the base. Do not automatically shorten the main branches when planting.
When does a sweet chestnut tree flower?
How to prune a sweet chestnut tree?
How to care for this plant
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Maintain the mulch
Check the ground cover around the base. If the mulch has thinned, top it up on moist, well-drained soil after removing competing weeds. Keep the trunk, crown and graft union clear; add nothing if the existing layer is sufficient.
How to harvest sweet chestnuts?
