Culture
Best grown in evenly moist, well-draining loams in full sun. Hardy in Zones 5-8.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Castanea is a genus of around 10 species of deciduous shrubs or trees native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Genus name comes from the Latin name for this tree which was derived from the town of Castania in Thessaly where the trees reportedly grew in abundance.
B3F3 is a hybrid chestnut selection resulting from breeding work conducted by the American Chestnut Foundation to create an American chestnut tree that is resistant to chestnut blight. Work began in the 1980s by crossing Castanea dentata (American chestnut) and the chestnut blight resistant C. mollissima (Chinese chestnut). This original cross (F1) was then backcrossed three times with C. dentata to create trees with a genetic makeup of 15/16 C. dentata and 1/16 C. mollissima (B3F1). Next the backcrossed hybrids were bred with each other to create B3F3 hybrids that are true breeding and will pass down their blight resistant traits to their progeny. Only individuals which showed resistance to chestnut blight were utilized at each step of the breeding process. Physical characteristics of mature trees are expected to be similar to the species C. dentata.
Problems
Chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica formerly Endothia parasitica). Also susceptible to leaf spots, anthracnose and powdery mildew.
Uses
Specimen trees for lawns, parks, and woodlands. The seeds can be eaten raw or cooked, or ground into a powder and used to make bread, cakes, or pancakes. Oil can also be extracted from the seeds. Deer, turkey, squirrels, and other wildlife eat the seeds. The wood makes excellent lumber.