Deer Are Nuts About Chestnuts

Zach T. from Georgia writes to ask about chestnuts. "I have heard that chestnuts were loved by deer, but of course we no longer have American chestnut trees (a fungus wiped them out). Is there anything similar that I can plant that deer will eat?"

You are right Zach, when we had chestnut trees, the deer loved them! They still do. I have a friend in Alabama that plants American chestnut trees and they live about 12- to 15 years, before they die. He gets about three- to four good nut-producing years out of those trees. However, Chinese chestnuts are blight resistant and deer love them.

Plant trees from seedlings because they survive much better than grafted trees. Plant them in soils with a pH from 5.5 to 6.5. They are subject to frosts, so avoid frost pockets. They are fairly tolerant to drought, but good water will give better yields of nuts.

You need to protect the growing seedlings from deer and rabbits and you can expect seedlings to give nuts within five- to six years while grafted trees will start producing in year three. Even so, I'd go with seedlings.