$24.95Original price was: $24.95.$19.96Current price is: $19.96.
Amy Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is a Chinese chestnut selection from Ohio breeder Greg Miller, producing sweet, excellent-flavored nuts on a broad, low-branching shade tree with strong blight tolerance and premier hard-mast wildlife value. It grows in USDA hardiness zones 5-8 and AHS heat zones 2-9, needs 400-500 chill hours, and requires cross-pollination with a compatible variety such as Chinese Chestnut or Hybrid Chestnut to set fruit.
2-3′ Bare Root Seedling Tree Propagation: Seedling (own-root) Can’t be shipped to: AK, CA, FL, HI, LA, OR, WA
Amy is a Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) selection made by Greg Miller from a 1972 planting of 500 C. mollissima seedlings on a farm in Carroll County, Ohio — the same foundational planting that produced the Gideon, Peach, and Miller 72-76 cultivars. Miller went on to become a full-time chestnut grower and founder of Empire Chestnut Company, and his Carroll County selections represent some of the most widely evaluated Chinese chestnuts in the Eastern United States. DNA analysis later revealed Amy carries approximately one-eighth Japanese chestnut ancestry through its unknown father, which researchers believe contributes to its notably high yield and early spring phenology relative to most pure C. mollissima. The cultivar name honors Miller’s daughter Amy. It was released without a plant patent, placing it in the public domain and ensuring broad grower access. As a pure C. mollissima-lineage selection, Amy carries the species-wide blight resistance that has made Chinese chestnut the backbone of North American nut orcharding since the blight eliminated the native American chestnut during the twentieth century.
Chinese chestnut adapts well across USDA Zones 4–8, making Amy suited to most of the eastern and central United States. Plant in full sun — six or more hours per day — for peak nut production; trees in partial shade produce fewer and smaller nuts. Soil drainage matters more than fertility: Amy tolerates clay, loam, or sandy soils as long as water does not pool around the roots. A soil pH near 6.0 to 6.5 suits chestnuts best; strongly alkaline soils cause iron chlorosis. Chestnuts as a group have moderate water needs and tolerate brief drought once established, though consistent soil moisture during the July–August nut-sizing period directly affects final nut weight. Space trees 30–40 feet apart in an orchard setting to allow canopy development and air circulation; a tighter 20-foot spacing delays but does not prevent eventual crowding. Because all chestnuts require cross-pollination, plant at least two to three unrelated varieties together — Amy will not produce a meaningful crop as a solitary tree. Young trees often begin bearing within three to five years of transplant.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-8 AHS Heat Zone: 2-9 Chill Hours: 400-500 Sun Requirements: Full Sun (6+ hours); tolerates Partial Shade Soil pH: 6.0 Soil Type: Clay, loam, or sand; well-drained preferred Soil Drainage: Good drainage; tolerates occasionally dry; not waterlogged Water Requirements: Medium; tolerates occasional drought and humidity Drought Tolerance: Moderate Plant Spacing: 25-40 ft apart
Chinese chestnut is a medium to large deciduous tree, typically reaching 40–60 feet in height with a broad, spreading crown of roughly equal width at maturity — though many orchard-managed trees are kept shorter through selective pruning. The bark is dark gray-brown with interlacing ridges; mature trunks can reach two feet in diameter over several decades. Leaves are lance-shaped with coarsely toothed margins, dark green above and paler beneath, turning yellow to bronze in autumn. The male catkins emerge in late spring and are long, showy, and distinctively musky-scented — a signal to insect visitors that pollen is available, though wind does most of the transfer. Female flowers are small and inconspicuous at the base of the catkins. Spiny burs, each typically containing two to three nuts, develop through summer and split open at maturity in September and October. Chinese chestnut generally develops a more rounded crown than American chestnut, and the trunk tends to fork closer to the ground, giving the tree a wide, orchard-friendly profile that simplifies harvest.
Mature Height: 40-60 ft tall Mature Spread: 40-60 ft wide Growth Habit: Spreading; round crown; low-branching Growth Rate: Moderate Foliage Type: Deciduous Food Forest Layer: Canopy Leaf Color: Dark green Fall Foliage Color: Yellow to yellow-brown Attracts Wildlife: Premier hard-mast tree — nuts feed deer, wild turkey, squirrels, bear, and other game and songbirds; bees and other insects visit the male catkins Life Span: 60-100 years
Each Amy Chestnut tree bears both male catkins and female flowers, yet a single tree cannot reliably set a crop because the timing of pollen shed and female receptivity on the same branch rarely overlaps. Cross-pollination from a different, unrelated variety is required for consistent nut production. Plant Amy with at least two other Chinese chestnut or Chinese-hybrid selections; pollen can travel 100–200 feet under good wind conditions, but trees closer to one another produce better fruit set. Bloom in *C. mollissima* typically falls in late June through early July in temperate climates. Chestnuts are among the later-flowering nut trees, avoiding most spring frost damage. Good on-website pollinator partners include Empire Elite Chestnut, Qing Chestnut, and Peach Chestnut.
Bloom Season: Mid Bloom Window: Late Jun - Early Jul Pollination Requirements: Cross-pollination required; plant at least 2 trees within 200 feet Pollination Mechanism: Wind-pollinated; monoecious (separate male catkins and female flowers on the same tree) Flower Color: Creamy white to yellowish
Amy produces glossy brown nuts in the medium to large size range typical of well-selected *C. mollissima* cultivars. Chinese chestnut nuts are sweeter and lower in tannins than acorns or raw walnuts, making them pleasant to eat with minimal processing. Roasting concentrates the flavor and caramelizes the natural sugars; boiling or steaming softens the texture for use in soups, stuffings, and confections. Fresh nuts can be refrigerated for several weeks and frozen for longer storage. Unlike starchy grains, chestnuts are relatively low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates, giving them a distinctive place in both traditional and modern cooking. Harvest in September–October in temperate climates, when the burs split and nuts fall naturally; a gentle daily collection prevents ground-contact spoilage from fungal rot. The spiny burs require gloves to handle.
Ripening Season: Very Early Harvest Window: Early Sep - Mid Sep Fruit Size: Small to medium Fruit Weight: 10-12 g Flavor: Sweet, excellent flavor Fruit Skin: Peels well Bearing Habit: Annual bearing Years to Bear: 3-5 years from grafted tree; 7-9 years to mature yield Culinary Uses: Fresh eating, roasting, boiling, chestnut flour, stuffings, soups, confections
With its polygenic blight tolerance as a Chinese chestnut, Amy faces chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) from a fundamentally different position than its American counterpart — Castanea mollissima evolved alongside this fungal pathogen in Asia, and its trees develop cankers that are typically girdled and healed by callus tissue over time rather than being killed outright. Phytophthora root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi) is the other primary threat, and no Chinese chestnut — Amy included — is immune. Planting in well-drained soil and avoiding low-lying wet spots is the most effective control. Chestnut weevils (Curculio sayi and C. caryatrypes) are the most consequential pests in eastern orchards; larvae hatch inside the nut and render it inedible. Prompt harvest and cold storage disrupt the weevil life cycle. The Asian chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) causes galls on shoots and reduces vigor; Chinese chestnut shows moderate susceptibility, though most trees tolerate the pest without permanent damage. Cultural management — prompt removal of infested galls, good orchard sanitation — reduces pressure. No cultivar-specific resistance data have been published for Amy beyond these species-level patterns.
Harvest promptly: Collect fallen nuts daily during the September–October harvest window — nuts left on moist ground for more than a few days are vulnerable to weevil emergence and fungal rot.
Refrigerate or freeze soon after harvest: Chestnuts have relatively high moisture content; refrigerate within 24 hours of harvest and freeze extras in sealed bags for months-long storage.
Plant three varieties minimum: Two trees are the bare minimum for pollination, but a third unrelated selection dramatically improves set reliability if one tree has an off bloom year.
Drain before blight: The biggest threat to a young Chinese chestnut orchard is Phytophthora root rot from wet soils — site selection on well-drained ground eliminates the majority of that risk.
We ship in late winter or early spring based on your USDA hardiness zone.
We strive to ship orders on the scheduled dates listed in the table below. However, please note that the actual shipping date may be subject to change due to factors like weather conditions and order volume.
The specific date for shipping your order will be determined according to your zipcode at the time of checkout.
Our plants are shipped bare root, packed in moist sawdust, and securely wrapped in plastic to prevent the roots from drying out. We use USPS Ground Advantage for shipping, ensuring that your plants typically arrive within 2-5 days after packaging.
In case you're unable to plant the trees immediately upon arrival, we recommend soaking them in water for a few hours and temporarily heeling them in. Ideally, they should be planted within three days of receipt for optimal health.
Our 365-Day Plant Guarantee: We ensure that our plants are delivered to you alive and healthy. If your plant does not survive its first year, you're eligible for store credit under these conditions:
You maintain the roots' moisture and plant within three days of delivery, following the instructions in our Planting Guide.
If you're concerned about your plant's health, please consult our guide, How to Tell if Your Tree is Dead or Dormant. Remember, our plants are shipped in a dormant state and may leaf out at different times based on their species. To check for plant vital
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