# Summer nectar flow from reviving the American chestnut tree in the Appalachia?



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

A good primer on the work that the American Chestnut Foundation is doing:









3BUR | The American Chestnut Foundation







acf.org





One of the blight resistant chestnuts utilized in their germplasm is located in the next county over from me.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

Litsinger said:


> A good primer on the work that the American Chestnut Foundation is doing:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


did not see trees for sale.
do they have places planted yet?

GG


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## Kuro (Jun 18, 2015)

HaplozygousNut said:


> will they be a good source of summer nectar in the mountains?


Chestnuts are not native here in Pacific Northwest but large trees, both American and European chestnuts, are not uncommon in my neighrborhood, because they do not suffer from the blight here (due to the dry summer, I heard). And yes, they are very popular with my honey bees, around the end or right after the blackberry flow. In summer 2021, an extreme heat-wave killed off blackberry flowers, but my hive kept gaining weight; during that time, the majority of pollen they brought back were from the chestnut.


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

Do not believe you will get much nectar from any chestnut since they are primarily wind pollinated. Pollen source for some, but seldom see any honey bees on ours (Chinese and Dunsten which is a cross) more bumble bees and lots of other insects.

The ACF has been working on a back cross 15/16th American for many decades and the Forest service before them. The Darling 58 with a wheat gene is much newer and quickly surpassed the back cross in blight resistance. Much controversy with people leaving in protest... Personally have very mixed emotions on this issue. As far as I know the new one is still awaiting final approval to be planted in the wild. Was an article in Wall Street Journal on Dec. 29, 2022... Seems to be pay walled now or I would link it.

Dues paying members were able to buy limited amounts of seeds from the back cross project last time I looked. Do not believe they have ever been sold to the public yet. Several places around selling non blight resistant pure American trees and seeds. We had one that lasted about five years before the blight got it. They are not extinct by any stretch but almost never live to maturity anywhere in or near their native range. Mountains still have thousands of stump sprouts.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Gray Goose said:


> did not see trees for sale.


If one is interested in true American Chestnut, they could reach out to these folks- Bond Method for trees:






American Chestnut – Go Native Trees







www.gonativetrees.com













Home


WELCOME TO • BRINGING BACK AMERICAN CHESTNUTS THE NATURAL WAY • ABOUT KEN BLENK (KB) Located in upstate New York, my American Chestnut orchard is the culmination of my life's work collecting the finest genes from



www.buyamericanchestnuts.com













Now Available from ArcheWild: American Chestnuts - ArcheWild - Architects of Wild Spaces


ArcheWild is now releasing blight-resistant American chestnut trees to land managers, nurseries, parks, and committed homeowners.



archewild.com


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

I donated a hive and help to Suny esf located just down the street from my house, the US govt has been "evaluating"  what they have done for years, they are still waiting for the ok to start selling the trees if I remember correctly.





American Chestnut | The American Chestnut Project | ESF


SUNY ESF is the oldest and most distinguished institution in the United States that focuses on the study of the environment.



www.esf.edu





this was the young lady that ended up taking care of the hive.





Progress Report 2019-20 | The American Chestnut Project | ESF


SUNY ESF is the oldest and most distinguished institution in the United States that focuses on the study of the environment.



www.esf.edu





from the 2018-2019 status report
"Big news! Submitted a revised, 286 page, petition to the USDA
APHIS BRS for nonregulated status (please read first section
below on how you can help)."


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## HaplozygousNut (Dec 30, 2015)

William Bagwell said:


> Do not believe you will get much nectar from any chestnut since they are primarily wind pollinated. Pollen source for some, but seldom see any honey bees on ours (Chinese and Dunsten which is a cross) more bumble bees and lots of other insects.
> 
> The ACF has been working on a back cross 15/16th American for many decades and the Forest service before them. The Darling 58 with a wheat gene is much newer and quickly surpassed the back cross in blight resistance. Much controversy with people leaving in protest... Personally have very mixed emotions on this issue. As far as I know the new one is still awaiting final approval to be planted in the wild. Was an article in Wall Street Journal on Dec. 29, 2022... Seems to be pay walled now or I would link it.
> 
> Dues paying members were able to buy limited amounts of seeds from the back cross project last time I looked. Do not believe they have ever been sold to the public yet. Several places around selling non blight resistant pure American trees and seeds. We had one that lasted about five years before the blight got it. They are not extinct by any stretch but almost never live to maturity anywhere in or near their native range. Mountains still have thousands of stump sprouts.


There are Chestnut trees that produce honey for bees. But they are different species from the American chestnut:


https://beeswiki.com/chestnut-honey/



There are some wind pollinated trees that produce honey. I have read about Oaks (Honey flows for florida?) giving nectar in Florida. And I read somewhere about willows producing honey in Russia. And a beekeeper in the mountains told me willow was the first nectar flow in the mountains.

I have been wondering whether the White oaks are giving the main nectar flow here in April in central NC, because I do not know of other plants blooming in large number during that time. The nectar that the bees fan smell just like the white oak blooms. People say that the Tulip poplar is the biggest nectar source here in North Carolina, but I haven't got Tulip poplar nectar in some locations here, and the locations that do get a little Tulip poplar at the end of our nectar season don't get much.


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