Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny

On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny



I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

On 5/14/2019 9:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny

I once had a Norway Maple growing at the side of my house, next to the
gas meter. I was about 2' tall, I cut it to the ground. Couple months
later, it was back. Cut it to the ground again. The next year back
again but two stems and bigger leaves. Cut it to the ground again, and
again it came back, thicker stems and unbelievably big leaves. It became
a curiosity, and I kept cutting it to the ground, it kept coming back,
with thicker stems, and giant leaves. I decided it was like a
dandelion, and would never die by cutting it to the ground. It
eventually disappeared, and I'm too old to remember if it died or I
ripped out the roots. This of course only happens if you don't want the
bugger around. If you want a plant, look at it crooked and it falls
over dead in minutes. So, my guess is the little shoots are probably
dandelions.

--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.

On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Updates appreciated!

I forget if these were hybrids or grafts onto root stock -- or did you
ever even find out for sure?

If they're hybridized, a new shoot sure remain pure; if that is what
it's doing you'll want to remove the old trunk to try give it room to
grow vertical instead of having to miss the old dead growth.

If they're grafted, it's possible/probable even that it'll be coming up
from below the graft and is the root stock...

As say, "time will tell..."

--dpb

On Tue, 14 May 2019 13:40:26 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny



I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

Yes, the plant's last gasp. The roots are still alive and will try to
stay that way. The best strategy is to let the shoots go for a year,
then prune all back but the best one.

On 5/14/2019 1:50 PM, Jack wrote:
On 5/14/2019 9:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking
healthy.Â*Â* The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that
were trampled by cows.Â*Â* We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their
bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or
below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant.Â*Â* I didn't
dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems.Â*Â* The leaf
sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in
the area.Â*Â* These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly
what they are.Â*Â* We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny

I once had a Norway Maple growing at the side of my house, next to the
gas meter.Â* I was about 2' tall, I cut it to the ground.Â* Couple months
later, it was back.Â* Cut it to the ground again.Â* The next year back
again but two stems and bigger leaves.Â* Cut it to the ground again, and
again it came back, thicker stems and unbelievably big leaves. It became
a curiosity, and I kept cutting it to the ground, it kept coming back,
with thicker stems, and giant leaves.Â* I decided it was like a
dandelion, and would never die by cutting it to the ground.Â* It
eventually disappeared, and I'm too old to remember if it died or I
ripped out the roots.Â* This of course only happens if you don't want the
bugger around.Â* If you want a plant, look at it crooked and it falls
over dead in minutes.Â* So, my guess is the little shoots are probably
dandelions.


Yeah! That's what the little shoots are. LOL

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 2:40:38 PM UTC-4, Leon wrote:
On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny



I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

You don't need the tree, or even the stump.

My locust was severely damaged in an ice storm and had to be cut down. The
following spring I dug a huge hole around the stump, cut all of the roots
about 2-3 feet out from the stump and then ripped it out with a truck.

About a month later I came home from work and saw little plants growing all
over my yard. The remaining roots all across my yard had begun to sprout
hundreds of little locust trees. If you stood where the tree used to be,
you could follow the line of each root as it radiated from the spot.

I spent the rest of the summer ripping out the roots, obviously destroying
my entire lawn. What a mess.

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 1:54:49 PM UTC-5, dpb wrote:

Updates appreciated!

I forget if these were hybrids or grafts onto root stock -- or did you
ever even find out for sure?

As I understood, they are neither grafts nor hybrids. They are suppose to be "authentic American Chestnut". That is what I had searched for and I did call Willis Orchards and ask, specifically, what they were. Here is the list I purchased from, bought 10 of the $19.95 listing.
https://www.willisorchards.com/produ...e#.XNs9mY5KiUk

During my research about and search for authentic trees, I had contacted the American Chestnut Foundation and got several replies regarding planting, care, etc. Here's an excerpt of one reply from Shana Zimnoch.

"I have attached an American chestnut growing guide. After speaking with one of the scientists in the office, Ben Jarrett, he explained that after 5 years the tree can range anywhere from 6 feet to 20 feet depending on sun exposure, nutrients in the soil, and water. I also received clarification on nut production: as you thought, after 3-4 years you will see the first of nut production. After 7-10 years there will be a more significant amount of nuts."

Note: There was nothing in the growing guide or in the Foundation's emails about cows. I had flagged the trees with red flagging tape. The cows were attracted to the red tape, even ate some of it. The 5 unaffected trees were planted in another, no cows, area.

Sonny

On Tue, 14 May 2019 12:16:02 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 2:40:38 PM UTC-4, Leon wrote:
On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny



I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

You don't need the tree, or even the stump.

My locust was severely damaged in an ice storm and had to be cut down. The
following spring I dug a huge hole around the stump, cut all of the roots
about 2-3 feet out from the stump and then ripped it out with a truck.

About a month later I came home from work and saw little plants growing all
over my yard. The remaining roots all across my yard had begun to sprout
hundreds of little locust trees. If you stood where the tree used to be,
you could follow the line of each root as it radiated from the spot.

I spent the rest of the summer ripping out the roots, obviously destroying
my entire lawn. What a mess.

The sprouts would have stopped, eventually, just by mowing the lawn
(well, you said "yard" but I assume it was mowed grass).

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 2:06:54 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Tue, 14 May 2019 13:40:26 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:


I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

Yes, the plant's last gasp. The roots are still alive and will try to
stay that way. The best strategy is to let the shoots go for a year,
then prune all back but the best one.

Yep, I'm familiar with that sprouting. If those sprouts are chestnut, I didn't want to dig to verify, disturbing the plants. I thought, the less disturbance, the better, since the trees growth had already been interfered with by the cows.

Related: My grafted satsuma started sprouting from its root stock. An arborist told me not to cut them off, but to break them off by forcing the sucker/sprout downward. By breaking it off this way, you remove the bud, also, preventing further sprouting at that spot. If you simply cut the sucker's stem it will/may continue to sprout via the remaining bud.

Sonny

On 5/14/2019 5:30 PM, Sonny wrote:
On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 1:54:49 PM UTC-5, dpb wrote:

Updates appreciated!

I forget if these were hybrids or grafts onto root stock -- or did you
ever even find out for sure?

As I understood, they are neither grafts nor hybrids. They are suppose to be "authentic American Chestnut". That is what I had searched for and I did call Willis Orchards and ask, specifically, what they were. Here is the list I purchased from, bought 10 of the $19.95 listing.
https://www.willisorchards.com/produ...e#.XNs9mY5KiUk

I'd forgotten you had found a supplier of "the real thing" but now I do
recall. Guess you'll find out in about the same time about escaping the
blight...

During my research about and search for authentic trees, I had contacted the American Chestnut Foundation and got several replies regarding planting, care, etc. Here's an excerpt of one reply from Shana Zimnoch.

....

Note: There was nothing in the growing guide or in the Foundation's emails about cows. I had flagged the trees with red flagging tape. The cows were attracted to the red tape, even ate some of it. The 5 unaffected trees were planted in another, no cows, area.
....

It probably wouldn't have made any difference if they weren't flagged --
cows are unalterably curious and will rub on anything no matter how
fragile -- and, as you've observed, delicacy and care for fragile items
is totally missing in their nature. Only stout fencing to keep them
out would have worked.

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 7:13:23 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 14 May 2019 12:16:02 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 2:40:38 PM UTC-4, Leon wrote:
On 5/14/2019 8:01 AM, Sonny wrote:
Of the 10 trees planted, 8 are doing well, sprouting leaves, looking healthy. The two doing poorly (or may be dead) were among 5 that were trampled by cows. We had replanted the cow-affected ones.

The two poor ones seem to have small leaves sprouting from their bottoms, but can't tell for sure, as the leaf sprouts are right at or below the soil surface.... they may be of some other plant. I didn't dig to see if they are attached to the chestnut stems. The leaf sprouts look like chestnut, but also resemble other small plants in the area. These leaf sprouts are too small to be certain of exactly what they are. We should know better in a month or so, hopefully.

Sonny



I have found that a tree that is not going to do well will often sprout
leaves from the roots.

You don't need the tree, or even the stump.

My locust was severely damaged in an ice storm and had to be cut down. The
following spring I dug a huge hole around the stump, cut all of the roots
about 2-3 feet out from the stump and then ripped it out with a truck.

About a month later I came home from work and saw little plants growing all
over my yard. The remaining roots all across my yard had begun to sprout
hundreds of little locust trees. If you stood where the tree used to be,
you could follow the line of each root as it radiated from the spot.

I spent the rest of the summer ripping out the roots, obviously destroying
my entire lawn. What a mess.

The sprouts would have stopped, eventually, just by mowing the lawn
(well, you said "yard" but I assume it was mowed grass).

Well, locust trees have a habit of doing this, especially in our sandy soil..

https://www.bowerandbranch.com/wp-co...ce-roots-2.jpg

My situation was probably 50% of the right hand image, in that the roots
were just barely buried. Mowing had gotten to be a rather bumpy endeavor.
If the roots weren't going to quickly die off on their own and continue
to sprout in the meantime, it was time for them to go.

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 6:52:17 PM UTC-5, dpb wrote:

It probably wouldn't have made any difference if they weren't flagged --
cows are unalterably curious and will rub on anything no matter how
fragile -- and, as you've observed, delicacy and care for fragile items
is totally missing in their nature. Only stout fencing to keep them
out would have worked.

Here's two pics of where they are planted. Surroundings, to the cows, would look inconspicuous if the flags weren't on the trees, I think. Without flags, the cows wouldn't have been attracted to them. The area is somewhat open (cleared of underbrush, though they are on a hill in otherwise a swamp land environment.
Two pics, scroll right.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/438361...posted-public/

First pic is to the right of the gate. Second pic shows the trees to the left of the gate and gate shown.

This pic shows the road leading to the gate. Lots of underbrush on this side of the gate and no cow access, here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/438361...posted-public/

Next trip out I'll take more pics.

Sonny
https://www.flickr.com/photos/438361...posted-public/

On 5/14/2019 10:23 PM, Sonny wrote:
....

Here's two pics of where they are planted. Surroundings, to the cows, would look inconspicuous if the flags weren't on the trees, I think. Without flags, the cows wouldn't have been attracted to them. The area is somewhat open (cleared of underbrush, though they are on a hill in otherwise a swamp land environment.
....

I'd never expect them to survive unprotected flagged or no...just pure
chance they'd walk right on one first trip back to/from the water tank.

The flags may have sped up the process, but it was, imo, inevitable if
you turned cattle in there that way and had anything you really intended
to keep.

--