A Detailed Guide to Planting Horse Chestnut Seeds

March to April

1. Its seeds do not store well; if dried, they easily lose viability, so after the seeds mature, it is best to collect them promptly and sow them immediately (the sowing method is the same as for fresh sowing).

2. Whether sown in autumn or spring, the seedbed surface must be kept moist during the seedling emergence period. Once the seedlings emerge, promptly remove the covering of grass. To prevent sunscald damage to the seedlings, a shade frame must also be built and water sprayed frequently so the seedlings grow strong and healthy.

3. On loose, fertile ground with convenient drainage and irrigation, apply ample base fertilizer, then prepare the land and make beds, and then dig holes for dibbling. The depth of the sowing holes is 8-10 cm, and the spacing should be 30 x 40 (cm); for street trees, the plant spacing is 4-5 m, with additional base fertilizer applied, and planting with native soil; large seedlings should be used. When dibbling, the seed hilum should face downward, the covering soil must not exceed 3 cm, then cover with grass to retain moisture and water thoroughly.

May to June

1. Seedlings prefer moisture. After the seedlings emerge completely, promptly build a shade frame and spray water to keep the seedbed moist. Also loosen the soil and pull weeds, and apply appropriate topdressing. In the rainy season, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging.

2. The tending of young trees mainly consists of loosening soil and weeding, etc.

July to August

1. Seedlings grow relatively slowly; besides loosening soil and weeding, apply topdressing 2-3 times. In the dry season, pay attention to watering to keep the seedbed moist. Control pests and diseases promptly.

2. In addition to loosening soil, weeding and earthing up, young trees should be watered.

September to October

1. Seed collection: the capsule is spherical, flat at the top, slightly sunken; around late September, when the capsule turns yellowish-brown, it can be collected. After collection, the seed's germination ability disappears relatively quickly, so it is best to sow immediately after collection. If not sown, store in sand, but the germination rate is not high.

2. Sow and raise seedlings immediately after collection; on a seedbed that has already been prepared, open furrows and sow in drills, with a row spacing of 20-30 cm and a plant spacing of about 10 cm. When sowing, the seed hilum should face downward. After sowing, cover with soil and grass. They germinate and emerge the following spring.

Horse Chestnut Planting Methods and Cultivation Techniques (pictures)

The horse chestnut is also known as the buckeye, suoluozi, tianshili, pistachio, monkey chestnut, etc. It is a deciduous tree of the genus Aesculus in the family Hippocastanaceae. Its seeds are edible, but eaten directly they taste bitter and astringent; they must be boiled in alkaline water before eating, and then they taste like chestnuts. They can also be used to extract starch; the wood is fine and close-grained and can be made into various utensils; the seeds can be used medicinally; and the oil pressed from them can be used to make soap. Now let us take a look at horse chestnut cultivation techniques!

Horse Chestnut Growth Habits

The horse chestnut is cultivated in the Yellow River basin and all the eastern provinces of China, with wild populations found only in the Qinling Mountains. It is naturally distributed in mountainous areas below 700 m in altitude, and in the Yellow River basin this species is an excellent street tree and garden tree. It likes light and tolerates slight shade; it likes a warm climate and can also tolerate cold; it likes deep, fertile, moist soil with good drainage. It is deep-rooted, has strong sprouting ability, grows at a medium to slow rate, and is long-lived. In hot summers its leaves are prone to sunscald.

Horse Chestnut Propagation by Sowing

1. Seed collection: in mid-autumn, when the outer skin of the horse chestnut fruit turns from green to brownish-yellow and a few fruits have split open, they can be collected. After collection, dry the fruits in the shade; once the fruits naturally split open, peel off the outer skin, and finally select seeds that are large, plump, bright in color, free of pests and diseases, and free of mechanical damage. Mix the selected pure seeds with moist sand at a ratio of 1:3, then store them by the moist stratified storage method in a moist, well-drained soil pit, leaving ventilation holes.

2. Nursery site preparation: choose neutral or slightly acidic sandy loam with deep, fertile soil and good drainage as the seedling-raising site. Two to three months before sowing, plow deeply, remove impurities and allow the soil to dry. Before sowing, carry out careful land preparation so the ground is level and the soil particles are uniform in size. Apply decomposed and fermented cow and horse manure as base fertilizer at a rate of 2500 kg/mu, then disinfect the soil with quintozene.

3. Sowing method: generally spring sowing is used, carried out in late March, using strip dibbling, with a plant-row spacing of 20 cm × 25 cm and a depth of 3 cm to 4 cm. When sowing, the seed hilum faces downward, cover with 4 cm of soil, level the covering soil with the bed surface, and press lightly with the foot. The sowing rate is 150 kg/mu.

4. Post-sowing management: before the seeds germinate, keep the soil moist; they emerge after one month. Weed promptly to ensure there are no weeds in the seedling area. After the seedlings reach 25 cm in height, loosen the soil, weed, and thin the seedlings on cloudy and rainy days. During the seedling growth period, also keep the nursery site moist frequently. From seedling emergence to early June is the horse chestnut's rapid growth period, so increase the amount of watering. July to August is the lignification period of horse chestnut seedlings, so reduce watering to promote stem growth and lignification of the seedlings.

Horse Chestnut Cultivation Techniques

1. Planting pit: the horse chestnut has a deep taproot and few lateral roots, and is a tree species that does not tolerate transplanting, so when transplanting it must be moved with a soil ball; the diameter of the soil ball is 6 to 8 times the diameter at breast height of the tree. Planting horse chestnut should be carried out in early spring before it buds or in late autumn after all its leaves have fallen. To increase the survival rate of planting, the planting pit should be dug as large as possible before planting, as this is beneficial to the plant's growth. When planting, note that it must not be too deep; too deep easily causes the plant to suffocate its buds. Generally, the planting depth can be slightly higher than the upper surface of the soil ball by 3 cm to 5 cm. When planting, the backfilled soil should be firmed layer by layer.

2. Watering: immediately after planting, water the first time; one week later water the second time; after another 10 days or so, water the third time. After the third watering, water according to soil moisture conditions; generally, water thoroughly once a month. July and August are the months with abundant rainfall, so water less or not at all. In September and October, water thoroughly once each month. In late November or early December, water sufficiently and thoroughly with winterizing water. In early March of the following year, water sufficiently and thoroughly with thawing water. April and May are the dry spring months; the spring monsoon lasts a long time and the wind is strong, so the plant's transpiration is relatively high, so the watering frequency can be increased to once every 15 days, and thereafter water thoroughly once a month.

3. Fertilizing: the horse chestnut likes fertilizer, so ample base fertilizer should be applied before planting. Base fertilizer is best as farmyard manure such as cow and horse manure or rotten leaf fertilizer; although these fertilizers have low nutrient strength, they are mild and also help improve soil looseness. The base fertilizer should be fully mixed with the planting soil. Ample fertilizer can accelerate its growth rate and improve the plant's resistance to pests and diseases. In addition to applying base fertilizer at planting, fertilizer should also be applied throughout the growing period, including for some large-sized street trees.

4. Pruning: the shaping and pruning of horse chestnut should be carried out after leaf fall in winter each year or before budding the following spring. Because the horse chestnut's crown is naturally round-headed, it is best to maintain the original crown shape. Shaping and pruning are mainly based on the principles of keeping the crown attractive and allowing ventilation and light penetration. Thin out overly dense branches, and shorten overly long branches, so that the branches are evenly distributed and grow robustly. Also cut off dead branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches, inner-canopy branches, slender branches and poorly growing branches, which helps concentrate nutrient supply and form a good crown.

Horse Chestnut Growing Methods

Light and Temperature

The growing of horse chestnut should be carried out according to its growth habits. First, growing horse chestnut requires ample light, so place the horse chestnut in a sunny spot. The growth of horse chestnut requires fertile, deep, well-drained soil, and the growing temperature must be kept warm. Of course, the horse chestnut is also cold-resistant, but in winter, for normal growth, it must be moved indoors to a warm, sunny place to avoid frost damage from cold air.

Watering and Fertilizing

After planting, the horse chestnut should be watered immediately; wait one week and then water a second time; the third watering should be carried out on the 10th day after the second watering. After the third watering, water heavily once a month; just water thoroughly.

Entering the plant's growing period, in the rainy months of June to August, water a small amount. In late autumn, water thoroughly once a month, and in early winter water thoroughly once more. After entering winter, stop watering, and water thawing water again in March of the following year, so in March a large amount of water should be given. After entering spring, water frequently to keep the plant's growing environment moist.

Fertilizing: the horse chestnut likes fertilizer. During the planting period of the horse chestnut, it is sufficient to apply base fertilizer such as cow and horse manure or rotten leaf fertilizer.

During the growing period of the horse chestnut, in June of the first year, urea fertilizer can be applied to promote the growth of branches and leaves. By the end of August, apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to increase the horse chestnut's ability to resist freezing damage. In autumn, apply an additional round of rotten leaf fertilizer, and the amount applied should be large.

Propagation

Horse chestnut propagation generally uses the sowing method. First collect seeds from robust mother trees that are free of pests and diseases, dry them in the sun until dry, then store the seeds moist in moist, well-drained soil, taking care to leave ventilation holes.

By late March in spring, use the dibbling method to plant in fertile, well-drained neutral sandy soil. After planting, keep the soil moist, and weed and loosen the soil frequently.