(Update Fall 2025) Over the summer, we completed the access trail to the plantation. By the end of August, we inspected our chestnut plantation and were astonished to find the meadow completely overgrown with goldenrod and milkweed. The vegetation was so dense that we could barely see the tops of the stakes, let alone the chestnut saplings.
We walked through all the rows of saplings and found the following:
- Approx 50% survival rate, with lots of variation in the size of the plants
- Many of the predator guards were disintegrating, probably due to UV exposure
- Sapling branches growing through the predator guards, making them not fit for purpose
- Lots of thistles are growing around many of the saplings, which inhibits growth
- Many of the stakes are already rotting at the base and breaking
- Re-staking using stakes from dead saplings was undertaken where possible
Further work is required to remove vegetation around the saplings and to clean up all predator guards and redundant stakes.
(Update Summer 2025) As part of the American Chestnut Planting initiative, which took place in the fall of 2023, ongoing maintenance work has been conducted to give the plants the best chance of survival.
To recap, the Blue Mountains Club took delivery of 120 Chestnut seedlings in the fall of 2023. The seedlings were planted on a 25 x 25 ft pattern. Staking and rodent guards were installed concurrently.
An inspection of the seedling was conducted in November 2024, and it was determined that the surviving saplings required assistance, including fertilization, which was scheduled for spring 2025. Fertilizer was brought in at the end of April, and the damage from the previous month’s ice storm was quite evident. Access to the Chestnut plantation was complicated due to all the fallen trees and branches. The rodent guards were adjusted, and an inspection of the saplings revealed that they had been hit hard by the harsh winter weather. Fertilizer was applied to the surviving plants to give them a ‘leg up’ over the surrounding competition.
For more information about the history of the American Chestnut, visit the Canadian Chestnut Council website.
(October 2023) The American Chestnut was once one of the most essential timber and nut-producing species in the Carolinian forest of Southern Ontario. The tree is a designated species at risk in Ontario and Canada. Efforts by the Canadian Chestnut Council (CCC) aim to save this once majestic tree.
In partnership with the CCC, the BTC is working to provide suitable meadow areas to facilitate the planting of American Chestnut seedlings as part of a restoration initiative.
One such area was identified on the BTC’s Noisy River Property, located in the Blue Mountains Club section, ~2 acres in size, with compatible soils, situated just south of the Noisy River Provincial Nature Reserve. The hatched area denotes the meadow in which planting took place.
The BMBTC took delivery of 120 Chestnut seedlings on October 11, 2023, and, thanks to an army of volunteers, the planting took place on October 12. The seedlings were planted in a 25 x 25 ft pattern, previously flagged, to speed up the process. Holes had to be dug to the correct depth, and the seedlings planted according to the meticulous instructions provided by the CCC.
CCC also provided 7ft stakes, which had to be driven into the ground and attached to the rodent and deer guards. Coconut mats were also installed at the base of the stakes to suppress the competition. Overall, it is a very labour-intensive endeavour, and all volunteers deserve congratulations for a job well done. Special thanks to:
Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, which put us in touch with some of the volunteers
The Waypoint Center
BMBTC volunteers
A survey of the planting was performed in the summer of 2024. The survival of the saplings was estimated to be about 1/3 doing well, 1/3 doing okay, and 1/3 may be dead. It is hoped that a work party will be organized in the spring to suppress competing vegetation and improve the survivability of the saplings.
Want to learn more? The history of the American Chestnut can be found at www.canadianchestnutcouncil.ca, and you can watch this video.
