$24.95Original price was: $24.95.$19.96Current price is: $19.96.
Peach Chestnut (also known as Peach Chinese Chestnut; Castanea mollissima) is a Chinese chestnut selection from the Empire Chestnut Company’s foundational Ohio planting, bearing medium, reddish-brown, easy-peel nuts with mild, starchy, sweet cooked flavor. It grows in USDA hardiness zones 5-8 and AHS heat zones 3-9, 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
Peach 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 foundational planting behind Empire Chestnut Company and the source of the Amy and Gideon cultivars as well. The mother tree was acquired from Ackerman Nursery in Bridgman, Michigan, in 1957. The cultivar’s distinguishing characteristic — and the source of its name — is the faint fuzzy texture on the shell of mature nuts, reminiscent of a peach skin, combined with consistent production of medium to large nuts season to season. Peach has become one of the benchmark cultivars in Eastern chestnut production trials, appearing in the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry’s reference seed orchard (the Peach x Qing x Kohr planting) and in Ohio State University anthracnose resistance evaluations. It was released without a plant patent, ensuring broad grower access. As a C. mollissima selection, Peach carries the species-wide blight resistance that makes Chinese chestnut the practical backbone of North American nut orcharding.
Site Peach Chestnut in full sun — chestnuts are canopy trees that produce poorly when shaded, and inadequate light reduces both yield and nut size more sharply than most other nut crops. The species demands well-drained, slightly acidic soil in the pH 5.0–6.5 range; avoid heavy clay and low-lying bottomland where moisture sits, as waterlogged roots invite Phytophthora root rot before the tree ever reaches production age. Sandy loam and loamy soils on gentle slopes give the best long-term results.
Young trees need consistent watering through their first growing season while the root system establishes; after that, Castanea mollissima is notably drought-tolerant once settled in. Avoid overhead irrigation once the canopy fills in — keeping foliage dry reduces anthracnose pressure significantly. Soil pH correction with sulfur before planting pays dividends, since chestnuts planted above pH 6.5 suffer from micronutrient lockout. Chestnuts are poor performers in saline soils, so avoid sites near roads treated with de-icing salts.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-8 AHS Heat Zone: 3-9 Chill Hours: 400-500 Sun Requirements: Full Sun — required for optimal nut production and dense growth Soil pH: 5.0-6.5 Soil Type: Light-textured, well-drained; avoid heavy clay or cool high-humus bottomland Soil Drainage: Well-drained; does not perform well in poorly drained bottomland Water Requirements: Medium; established trees are drought-tolerant, but young trees need consistent moisture in first season Drought Tolerance: Moderate to High; drought tolerant once established Heat Tolerance: High; thrives in hot humid summers Plant Spacing: 30-40 ft apart How to Prune: Prune in late winter (dormant season preferred). Train to a central leader for the first 3-5 years; remove competing leaders and any branches exceeding half the diameter of the main stem. On mature trees remove dead, broken, and crossing branches; never remove more than 30% of foliage in a single year. An open-vase with a central leader (snorkel) structure is recommended for best nut production.
Peach Chestnut is a deciduous canopy tree in the typical Chinese chestnut mold — broad-spreading crown, dense shade in summer, and striking golden-yellow fall foliage. Castanea mollissima commonly reaches 40–60 feet at maturity, though orchard-managed trees kept with annual structural pruning typically stay in the 25–35 foot range, which eases harvest considerably. The species grows at a moderate pace, adding 1–2 feet per year in good conditions.
Leaves are long and lance-shaped with toothed margins, turning vivid yellow to bronze in autumn. The spiny burs that encase the nuts are a defining feature — handle them with thick gloves at harvest. Male catkins emerge in late spring and produce the species' distinctive strong, musky fragrance; the scent is not pleasant to everyone but it signals peak pollen shed. Trees are long-lived, with a productive lifespan measured in decades, and function as premier hard-mast producers in food-forest and agroforestry systems.
Mature Height: 40-60 ft tall Mature Spread: 40-60 ft wide Growth Habit: Spreading; broad rounded crown with low branching Growth Rate: Moderate to Fast; reported as rapid in some sources, moderate in others Foliage Type: Deciduous Food Forest Layer: Canopy Leaf Color: Dark green; soft green and pubescent beneath 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
All chestnuts, including Peach, are self-incompatible — pollen from the same tree cannot fertilize its own flowers, making a second compatible cultivar a hard requirement for nut production. Wind carries pollen between trees, so plant two or more varieties within roughly 200 feet of each other for effective cross-pollination. For best results, choose pollinators that bloom at overlapping times: Chinese Chestnut and Gideon Chestnut are reliable compatible selections with confirmed bloom overlap available from this nursery. Bloom typically falls in late spring to early summer, when male catkins release pollen and the small female flowers at the twig tips are receptive. Bees and other insects visit the catkins for pollen, providing a secondary pollination vector alongside wind.
Bloom Season: Late Bloom Window: Late Jun - Late Jul Pollination Requirements: Requires cross-pollination; plant two or more different Chinese chestnut cultivars within 30-100 feet Pollination Mechanism: Wind-pollinated; monoecious (separate male catkins and female flowers on the same tree) Flower Color: Yellowish-white (catkins)
Peach Chestnut produces large, sweet nuts encased in spiny burs that split open at maturity in early to mid-autumn. The nuts have a smooth, glossy brown skin with the warm coloring characteristic of the variety. Like all Castanea mollissima selections, the flesh is starchy and sweet, lower in fat than other tree nuts, and becomes noticeably more flavorful after roasting or boiling — raw nuts carry astringent tannins that cooking largely neutralizes.
Culinary uses are broad: roasted chestnuts, chestnut flour, stuffing, soups, and confections such as marrons glacés all work well with quality Chinese chestnut nuts. Fresh nuts store under refrigeration for several weeks; longer-term storage is best achieved by drying or freezing. The tree also functions as a premier mast producer for deer, turkey, and other wildlife.
Ripening Season: Late Harvest Window: Late Sep - Mid Oct Fruit Size: Medium; 33-38 nuts per pound Flavor: Mild, starchy, sweet when cooked; considered average flavor among Chinese chestnut cultivars; easy to peel Fruit Color: Reddish-brown; shell has distinctive peach-fuzz (fuzzy) appearance Fruit Texture: Firm when raw; meaty and starchy when cooked; easy to peel Bearing Habit: Annual bearer; flowers on current year's wood Years to Bear: 3-5 years (grafted); 4-7 years (seedling) Storage Life: 2-4 weeks refrigerated (fresh); up to 6 months frozen Culinary Uses: Roasting; boiling; baking; ground into gluten-free flour; pureed for desserts and sweets; marron glace; chestnut paste and cream; fresh eating
The most important disease asset Peach Chestnut carries is the Castanea mollissima species-wide resistance to chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) — the pathogen that eliminated American chestnut from Eastern forests. Chinese chestnut does not prevent infection but compartmentalizes cankers and survives them, making it a viable long-term producer in blight-endemic landscapes.
The significant caveat is anthracnose. OSU Ohio trials from 2019 to 2021 rated Peach among the highest-susceptibility cultivars tested for Colletotrichum henanense — the fungal pathogen that causes chestnut anthracnose. In humid climates with warm, wet summers, this rating means growers should build management into their plan from day one. Practical cultural strategies make a real difference: plant trees where air moves freely rather than in low pockets; avoid overhead irrigation entirely once trees are established; remove fallen leaf litter and infected burs from the orchard floor each autumn before the pathogen overwinters; and, as a last resort, apply copper-based OMRI-listed fungicides at bud break in high-pressure years. Phytophthora root rot is a background risk on poorly drained sites — well-drained soil selection is the complete preventive for that threat.
Anthracnose defense: Rake and remove all fallen burs and leaf litter every autumn — overwintering Colletotrichum on orchard debris is the primary infection source for the following season.
Pollination spacing: Plant two compatible varieties (Empire Elite, Qing, or Gideon) within 200 feet; chestnuts planted solo produce no nuts.
Soil prep first: Correct pH to 5.5–6.0 before planting — chestnuts planted above pH 6.5 show chlorosis and stunted growth that no amount of fertilizer corrects.
Skip overhead irrigation: Drip or soaker irrigation keeps foliage dry and cuts fungal pressure across multiple diseases simultaneously.
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
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.
Be the first to review “Peach Chestnut”Cancel Reply
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.