American Chestnut!

[mike ash]

A couple of years ago I was in North Carolina and met Rex Mann (with American Chestnut Foundation) and became very interested in the research/work ACF is doing to bring the Chestnut back!!! I asked what I could do to help, and ever since, I've been turning old style bottles from 100+ year old Chestnut fence rails. The ACF uses them as gifts to donors and for auction. These folks are doing some fantastic work. Look them up!!!

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[John K Jordan]

A couple of years ago I was in North Carolina and met Rex Mann (with American Chestnut Foundation) and became very interested in the research/work ACF is doing to bring the Chestnut back!!! I asked what I could do to help, and ever since, I've been turning old style bottles from 100+ year old Chestnut fence rails. The ACF uses them as gifts to donors and for auction. These folks are doing some fantastic work. Look them up!!!

What a great idea! I used to follow the progress but haven't for a while. I looked at their web site but don't see anything about donating items for auction. Is Mr Mann the person to contact?

I love wormy American Chestnut for turning but I have just a little in sizes over 1" thick which limits what I can turn. An example:

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I do have part of a chestnut beam maybe 4x5" that still has a few nails to get out.

JKJ

[mike ash]

John - I didn’t mean to imply that they were looking for auction items. But, I think if you contacted Rex Mann with an offer, he would be happy to have a few things to auction!

[roger wiegand]

I"d dearly love to get one of the SUNY blight resistant trees to plant in my yard. I just read a recent paper on the testing of the most recent generation in the ACF program to backcross the Chinese chestnut resistance gene into the American chestnut. Progress, but half the trees are still dying as they begin to reach maturity. Tree breeding is not for the short-lived!

I believe ACF has finally relaxed its resistance to using techniques like CRISPR and other engineering methods to move blight resistance genes in. Can't happen soon enough for me.

[John K Jordan]

John - I didn’t mean to imply that they were looking for auction items. But, I think if you contacted Rex Mann with an offer, he would be happy to have a few things to auction!

Thanks, I'll try to locate him. I sent a note through their contact page.

We got a "taste" of what it must have been like in the US before the chestnut trees were all gone. Our last visit to northern Italy coincided with chestnut season - there were chestnuts everywhere, covering the trails in places. Street vendors in the towns and cities were selling hot roasted chestnuts. My Lovely Bride was in nirvana.

[jared herbert]

I’m hoping the hybrid chestnuts have staying power. I planted a dozen of them 4 years ago I think. I am in northwest iowa so winters are harsh and summers can be hot and dry. Three of the trees winter killed a year ago. A couple have had some winter die back. The others are more or less going strong, about six feet tall. Last year I did find one nut that the best looking tree had produced. The best thing in my favor as far as avoiding the blight is that we are a long ways away from any native chestnut growing areas. I know I will never live to see a mature chestnut tree, I’m 69, but hoping my son will.

[Reed Gray]

There are some still in existence, and I have 2 starts for my property from a friend who raises them. Not sure if the survivors are ones that are more immune to the blight or just lucky not to have contacted it. Found two about 45 miles away from my house near where my daughter used to live, maybe 36 inch diameter +. Lovely trees. There seem to be all sorts of American Chestnut preservation societies around the Country. Oregon State University has a program that tries to find all of the existing ones and genetically record them.

robo hippy