PlantFiles: American Chestnut, American Sweet Chestnut
Castanea dentata

This tree is very hardy in zone 4 and grows well in sandy soil. I have had it for about 3 years and it has thrived out of the range of chestnut blight.

Once the dominant tree in this area it was nearly
elimanated by Chestnut blight. I planted two trees from the
new breeding program 2 years ago which seem to be doing well. It was a major food source for the Cherokee and for wildlife.During a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains National
Park I came across 37 young Chestnuts next to a trail at 5,000 feet near Fraser Firs killed by Balsam adelgids.

When it avoids the above problems it forms an attractive tree carrying large greenish yellow catkins in the summer, which develop into typical chestnut fruits with spiny casings. It has good autumn leaf colour of orangey-yellow. The leaves have toothed edges

The American Chestnut Foundation's backcross breeding program will produce American chestnut trees that are resistant to chestnut blight. In less than ten years the first resistant trees will be planted out. The web page is http://www.acf.org
Tom Pugel

A massive tree, but unfortunately Castanea dentata is highly susceptible to Chestnut blight (Endothia parasitica), as well as leaf spot, anthracnose and powdery mildew.