Chestnut Trees Suddenly Dead

[DrRod]

Greetings,

My place has been a bit of a landmark for its chestnut trees since the 1940s. We had a row of 12 along the fence line but around 2002 all but one died. No decline, no signs of blight, they just didn't bud out one spring. I planted replacements and, after some loses and replanting, finally got them to a nice sappling state. Three weeks ago I pruned a few small limbs on some and put down a little fertilizer and all seemed fine. When I returned two weeks ago, the young leaves had all browned and curled. At first I thought it was my fault but then I noticed that the oned big old tree was in the same state. And so was one other big old tree about two hundred yards away, and the same for three volunteers that had sprung up in the field. So I figured it was nothing I did.

I've checked a few web sites and my best guess is Sudden Oak Death. Apparently this can hit chestnuts but I really don't know. There is no sign of trouble with the bark so I don't think it is blight or a number of other diseases/fungi that all seem to start with signs on the bark. The leaves just browned at the tip and curled back dead.

So can anyone offer some insight on this? Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Rod

 

[Jstpssng]

The fact that they all died at once leads me to believe it'a root problem... Did your search lead you to this Washington Chestnut Company - Reading Chestnut Tree Leaves website? The third problem they discuss may sound familiar to you.

It's too bad they died after all this time. The demise of the chestnut tree is a sad chapter in our history. Unfortunately it's a lesson we never learned from, as we are still importing plants and fruit from all over the world.

 

[Western]

I dont know a thing about Chestnut trees, but I would be considering an arborist (sp) or other qualified person, to confirm what you think it is, at least before I planted any more.

 

[DrRod]

The fact that they all died at once leads me to believe it'a root problem... Did your search lead you to this Washington Chestnut Company - Reading Chestnut Tree Leaves website? The third problem they discuss may sound familiar to you.

It's too bad they died after all this time. The demise of the chestnut tree is a sad chapter in our history. Unfortunately it's a lesson we never learned from, as we are still importing plants and fruit from all over the world.

Thanks for the info -- I hadn't seen that site before. But I have to say my trees didn't look like the ones in the picture. Might be because the leaves had only started opening and were very small, even on the big old trees. I have a hard time thinking it was something in the soil since some of the trees were a good distance away and at the edge of woods, along a stream, or out in a field -- all different environments to an extent.

Something occured to me today. We brought some small logs from a dogwood tree up from MD last December -- a neigbor cut some down and I took them for firewood. Is it possible I imported something that would attack the chestnuts? Still, all the dogwoods on the property looked fine as did every other species.

Another thought, could they have gotten frost bit and now might grow back? I only get there every couple of weeks so I don't have an update. As suggested in the other response it would be good to have a pro take a look. I'm pretty far off the main travel lanes so its a little difficult but I suspect I could take a sample to someone. Definitely will do something like that before attempting to re-plant.

Thanks again for all comments.

Rod

 

[Gator6x4]

Sorry you are losing your Chestnut Trees. This article will explain it about as good as any you will find on the "Why".
Chestnut blight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Jstpssng]

Thanks for the info -- I hadn't seen that site before. But I have to say my trees didn't look like the ones in the picture. Might be because the leaves had only started opening and were very small, even on the big old trees. I have a hard time thinking it was something in the soil since some of the trees were a good distance away and at the edge of woods, along a stream, or out in a field -- all different environments to an extent.

Something occured to me today. We brought some small logs from a dogwood tree up from MD last December -- a neigbor cut some down and I took them for firewood. Is it possible I imported something that would attack the chestnuts? Still, all the dogwoods on the property looked fine as did every other species.

Another thought, could they have gotten frost bit and now might grow back? I only get there every couple of weeks so I don't have an update. As suggested in the other response it would be good to have a pro take a look. I'm pretty far off the main travel lanes so its a little difficult but I suspect I could take a sample to someone. Definitely will do something like that before attempting to re-plant.

Thanks again for all comments.

Rod

This is a great place to ask questions... Members here have a plethora of experience and knowledge to share. However Western has hit the nail on the head; if you're going to try again you should have an expert visit your site and access. Chestnuts are something we all are interested in...

You're actually lucky to have been able to enjoy your trees.

You might try contacting the American Chestnut Society; http://www.acf.org/ . I still lean toward a root borne issue... hardwoods tend to share root systems and disease can spread easily that way. It's also generally not a good idea to replant anything on a site where the last crop was the same species... this goes for corn, beans, apples and trees.

 

[rmorey]

Greetings,

My place has been a bit of a landmark for its chestnut trees since the 1940s. We had a row of 12 along the fence line but around 2002 all but one died. No decline, no signs of blight, they just didn't bud out one spring. I planted replacements and, after some loses and replanting, finally got them to a nice sappling state. Three weeks ago I pruned a few small limbs on some and put down a little fertilizer and all seemed fine. When I returned two weeks ago, the young leaves had all browned and curled. At first I thought it was my fault but then I noticed that the oned big old tree was in the same state. And so was one other big old tree about two hundred yards away, and the same for three volunteers that had sprung up in the field. So I figured it was nothing I did.

I've checked a few web sites and my best guess is Sudden Oak Death. Apparently this can hit chestnuts but I really don't know. There is no sign of trouble with the bark so I don't think it is blight or a number of other diseases/fungi that all seem to start with signs on the bark. The leaves just browned at the tip and curled back dead.

So can anyone offer some insight on this? Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Rod

If you contact your local university which has a botany component to their science department, they would have the necessary technology to analyse various sections of the tree to determine how it died, and would enjoy doing it for you. Give them a call and appeal to their "amazing expertise".

 

[jerry56]

Well I'm not far from you ....remember we had a frost warning last week.....and my roses took a hit...killed off the new buds..it took a week for them to recover but it looks like they will be ok....you might want to give them some time....I also had more winter kill on almost everything in the yard this year...not sure why...so I would give it some time, won't hurt anything at this point....

 

[soilsailor]

DrRod,

I don't know if this will help, but you may try contacting Tom Wahl at http://www.redfernfarm.com.

My wife and I are just getting started with chestnuts - we planted 206 trees last fall. We bought our seedlings from Tom. He is extremely knowledgeable. Tom warned us that planting in poorly drained soil can cause a sudden, unexplainable die-off. From what you've described, I doubt that is the problem.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[forgeblast]

I would wait for the douglas crosses that are currently being planted in the national forests to become available to homeowners. These have been back crossed (I think they are up to 5 generations)with the immune Chinese trees and we now have an American chestnut tree with blight immunity. Once they become available I plan on planting a lot on my property.