Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Sawtooth Oaks and Chestnut trees

dbltree

dbltree

Super Moderator
I planted hundreds of Sawtooth Oaks 7-8 years ago because they are supposed to be prolific producers of acorns and start producing in as little as 8-10 years. At that time I talked to our local DNR forester about planting Chestnut trees also, however he wasn't sure how well they would do. Just nosing around the IDNR link that Ghost posted and I see that a nursery in Wapello County is selling 2-3 year old bareroot Chestnuts that will produce in as little as a year after planting!
Food plots are great, but natural mast is hard to beat, and chestnuts at one time were one of wildlife's mainstays. The blight wiped them out, but Asian chestnuts are more resistant to blight.
Just wondering if any of you have planted Chestnut trees (or Sawtooth Oaks) and if they thrived and/or produced yet.
My Sawtooths have grown very fast but not acorns yet.
 
Sawtooth, is that slang? Pin Oak maybe? They grow fast, not sure about mast production.

One of these years I'll pick up some of my own land. I can see finding a nice oak and planting half a doz apple trees around it at, oooohh say 15 yards.
grin.gif
 
Doubletree,

Get a hold of Don Higgins at his web site. www.higginstrees.com You can contact him there as his email is posted. He is a friend of mine and is a walking encyclopedia of tree knowledge. He will be happy to assist you.
 
I just looked them up, interesting. Leaves look nothing like our native trees. Looks like a good way to improve habitat quickley.
 
Thanks for the link...always up for some advice.
This place is a little closer to home and the same soil types which is my main concern as far as planting chestnuts...if they can do it...so can I!
http://www.redfernfarm.com/
 
I think that sawtooth oak is now being discouraged as an invasive species. Maybe read that on the QDMA site.
 
Wow! I've never heard that? I know shingle oak is very invasive but never heard anything about sawtooths. I got started planting them thru the NWTF because turkeys love the smaller acorns of the "gobbler" hybrid version.
Mine haven't produced yet so no spreading yet
grin.gif
 
Thanks for the link pharmer. I did a little more research on it and apparantly it has more to do with a "purist" attitude. It's either native or not at all. I'm not sure why having an oak that grows fast, produces bushels of acorns and reproduces itself is a bad thing? Autumn Olives are listed as invasive also and they do spread easily in lighter soils, however I have several thousand planted as a "anti-poacher" screen, been there for 10 years and not a single plant has spread.
Guess I'll give the chestnut trees a try at any rate and if someday SE Iowa is polluted with Sawtooth Oaks...you'll know who to blame!
grin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom