Ha, I am not sure I wear Extra Large glove, but I do wear a size 13 shoe. I guess I should have put a quarter in for reference. I don't know the Dunstan not Dunston are any better than other selections, but in general I think seedling chestnut will more likely turn out at least ok, compared to say a pecan or a butternut and most nuts. The one seedling butternut I have that has put out nuts contain very little meat. The Dunstan I don't believe carry a very high percentage of American Castanea Dentata genes. The leaves, nuts and tree form are pretty much Asian from my view. The tree form is probably a little more upright than some Asian but not the timber form that I associate with American. I know a couple local existing American trees that have struggled along as mostly suckers re-sprouting from an old base, so maybe my perception is off on what an American would look like as it is based mainly on pictures. The leaf of at least my Dunstan have the hairy/fuzzyness on the underside of the leaf and the leaf shape of an Asian as opposed to the slick underside of American. I have not kept up with the ACF in recent years, but hope their efforts are successful in as close to Castanea Dentata as possible, but if you are really interested in managing trees for nuts you are probably better off with Asian or a Hybrid with significant Asian genes. This post was edited by strudeldog on Fri, Oct 4, 13 at 9:23

it looks like you are somewhere VERY warm - you are kind of at the southern edge of the range. Oikos is in Michigan. Badgersett in MN is another good source, but they are both northerly sources - I wouldn't order from them. Only thing i know about southern chestnuts is a hybrid called dunstan http://www.chestnuthilltreefarm.com/store/c/31-Dunstan-Chestnut-Trees.aspx Sounds like they are large, but not fast growing like pure American chestnut. I would maybe try emailing these guys and the ACF (http://www.acf.org/) - maybe they have what you want or know someone who does. ACF are your best bet long term, but seed is not publicly available unless you are a member ($300). My guess is seed will become more accessible in 5 years if you want to wait - these are 15/16 American chestnuts SPECIFICALLY bred for upright American characteristics and blight resistance. What is more, they have state chapters where they breed for different parts of the chestnut's range... http://www.acf.org/restoration_plan.pdf Word of caution. If you are in lowland South, you MIGHT be out of luck. There is ANOTHER older pathogen down there that will kill even blight resistant chestnuts - Phytophthora cinnamomi. Fortunately it doesn't do well at altitude and cold, so it never made it past the Appalachians.

Thought some of you might enjoy reading this! Rare chestnut tree still survives in Ohio State official let it slip that one mature tree stands in Ohio; its exact location is protected. Staff and Wire Reports Tuesday, March 25, 2008 SANDUSKY For about seven years, the state's natural resources leaders have harbored a secret. They still won't reveal the exact location of it or allow outsiders to see it. This Ohio treasure's existence was closely guarded until last week when the director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources revealed that a full-size American Chestnut tree still stands in a marsh near Lake Erie, the Sandusky Register reported recently. For tree experts, it's a big deal. American chestnuts that grew up to 120 feet once accounted for about 25 percent of the forests in the eastern half of North America until a fungus wiped out all but a few. 'They are often referred to as the redwood of the East because of their tremendous size,' Gary Obermiller, a regional manager for the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. The fungus was first detected in 1904 in trees in New York City, and by 1950 some 3.5 billion trees about 90 percent of the species were dead. Only a few trees had resistance to the fungus and survived. In Ohio, most American chestnut trees were found in the eastern half of the state. In August, the Dayton Daily News reported on the existence of a stand of American chestnuts anchored in a working sandstone quarry in Braceville Twp., Trumbull County, just west of Warren near the Mahoning River. The specimens that sit on a standstone knob are a handful, the tallest reaching 75 feet. According to the Register, the state's largest existing chestnut tree known only to a few until last week is in Sheldon Marsh, a 465-acre state nature preserve about midway between Toledo and Cleveland. The tree stands 89 feet tall and has a 5-foot circumference. 'To our knowledge, we don't have any that come close to this size,' Obermiller said. Most surviving chestnut trees are small, sprouting from the roots of trees killed by the fungus. Steve Maurer, the new chief of Natural Areas and Preserves, decided the public should be told about the tree, Obermiller said. 'He realized this was a very special tree,' Obermiller said. American Chestnut facts American chestnut trees once made up about 25 percent of forests in eastern North America. The trees grew up to 120 feet tall and lived up to 600 years. Its wood was valuable because it was straight, light and rot-resistant. A fungus that eventually wiped out most of the trees was first found in 1904 in New York. All American Chestnut trees in New York City were dead by 1912. By 1950 about 3.5 billion trees about 90 percent of the species were dead

Sharon, You make a good point, I really don't know, but what you say makes very good sense. On the site that sells Chestnut trees to the growers, they were talking about what the 'Growers' should do to maximize their crop yield is intersperse a one to ten ratio of a different hybrid. We don't need 'maximized crop yields', just enough for the furry tailed tree critters with some left over for us :) I will be starting the seeds in my green house with a heat mat under under the pots. I will post the progress on them. These are gorgeous looking nuts, far superior to those Chinese nuts you get in stores, Lou