December 12, 2025
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When I tell people I planted 4 grafted chestnut trees and 56 seedlings, the first question is always “why such a weird mix?” The answer is simple: $30 versus $1.
Back in 2018, I wasn’t sure this whole chestnut thing would work. Spending $25 per tree (now closer to $35) felt like a gamble when I could grow seedlings from nuts for basically the cost of the seed. So I hedged my bets. I planted some Forrest Keeling ‘Improved’ seedlings in 2017, two grafted ‘Qing’ cultivars in 2018, added two ‘AU Homestead’ grafted trees in 2019, and then started planting UMCA® seed-grown seedlings in 2021.
Seven years in, I can tell you what that decision bought me and what it cost me.
What You’re Actually Buying
Let’s start with what grafted trees are. When you buy a grafted chestnut, you’re getting a known quantity. The grafter took a bud or twig (scionwood) from another tree, typically a proven, named cultivar, like ‘Qing’ or ‘AU Homestead’, and attached it to a chestnut rootstock. If the graft takes and the tree grows, the resulting tree will be the exact same as its parent tree. When the tree starts producing nuts, they will be the same size, same flavor, same ripening time. It’s genetic insurance.
When you plant a chestnut seed, even if one of the known parents was from a great tree like Qing or Peach, you’re rolling the dice. That seedling might produce nuts as good as its parent. It might produce better nuts. It might produce nuts the size of peas that taste like cardboard. You won’t know for 5-7 years. Seedlings are genetic lottery tickets – but the chance of high genetic quality is improved when one parent (known mother tree that produces nuts) is high quality, and greatly improved when both parents are high quality.
I bought my seeds from UMCA® at about $27 per pound. The first mix was UMCA® PQK seed, which included Peach (consistent producer of medium to large nuts), Qing (heavy producer, good flavor, stores well), Kohr (medium to large nuts, mid-season). Later purchase was Qing and Gideon (consistent bearer with appealing nuts). These aren’t random grocery store chestnuts – they are seeds from proven orchard trees. But the seedlings from these seeds are still their own trees, not clones.
For grafted trees, I chose ‘Qing’ because it’s the standard. It’s a heavy producer, the nuts have good flavor and store well. ‘AU Homestead’ was chosen purely for nut flavor.
The Money Math
Here’s where it gets interesting. A grafted tree today costs about $35 from a reputable nursery. Improved seedlings from Forrest Keeling run around $17. My UMCA® seeds cost $27 per pound, and I got enough seeds to grow about 24 seedlings for that price.
If you’re planting 60 trees:
- All grafted: $2,100
- All improved seedlings: $1,020
- All seed-grown: Maybe $75 in seeds plus your time
That’s not a small difference when you’re a part-time farmer watching every dollar.
What Seven Years Taught Me
My 4 grafted trees are all doing very well. They’re 10-12 feet tall now. All four produced nuts in 2025. The progression was steady: about 3 burs in year 5, about 7 burs in year 6, and 10 burs in year 7. Not a commercial harvest yet, but actual chestnuts I can eat, share, and evaluate. These trees have been completely reliable.
My 56 seedlings? It’s complicated.
Some of the UMCA® seed-grown seedlings are 5-7 feet tall. A few grew straight out the top of their tree tubes in the first year to year-and-a-half. Those are the winners so far. But some seedlings are only 1 foot tall after multiple growing seasons. Some have died. None are producing nuts yet because they’re younger. This is common for seedlings.
The Forrest Keeling improved seedlings from 2017 have had more time in the ground than even my first grafted trees, but only a few have made it out of their tree tubes. No nut production yet.
The Real Calculation
When you plant grafted trees at $35 each, you’re buying certainty and time. You know what you’re getting, and you’re getting nuts years earlier. My grafted trees started producing in year 5. My seedlings are 3-4 years in and nowhere close.
If you’re planting chestnuts as a business, those extra years matter. Let’s say grafted trees give you a 3-year head start on production. That’s 3 years of potential income you’re missing with seedlings. At mature production (which we’re nowhere near yet), that could be 20-40 pounds of nuts per tree. Even at wholesale prices, that starts to add up.
But here’s the counter-argument I keep coming back to: genetic diversity and upside potential. My 56 seedlings represent 56 different genetic combinations. Some will be duds. Some will be average. As a group, they will likely have a more extended ripening period, extending the harvest window. But a few might be exceptional. One might produce bigger nuts than Qing. One might have strong disease resistance.
With grafted trees, I know exactly what I’m getting. With seedlings, I’m breeding my own orchard.
The Hybrid Strategy
After seven years, the approach is one we stumbled into by accident: plant both.
The 4 grafted trees are an insurance policy. They’re producing now. They’re reliable. If I wanted to sell nuts tomorrow, I could market them as “Qing chestnuts” and “AU Homestead chestnuts” with known characteristics.
The 56 seedlings are the long-term strategy. Some will get culled. Some will get grafted over with better genetics. But the best ones will become part of my orchard’s next generation.
Here’s my plan going forward: I’m going to start grafting. I’ve grafted a few apple trees before with mixed success (one out of three took), so I know it takes practice. But instead of spending $35 per tree, I can take scionwood from my four cultivars and graft it onto my viable seedlings. I can also buy scionwood from other cultivars, to increase diversity.
This gives me grafted-quality trees at a cost of a little over seedling prices, assuming I can get decent at grafting. It also means I can be selective. That 7-foot seedling that shot out of its tube in 18 months? That’s showing vigor that might be worth keeping.
We haven’t determined how many seedlings we’ll graft this coming spring. Some of the seedlings I’ll keep as-is just to see what they produce. Call it the experimental group.
Yes, this path of doing the grafting ourselves will take extra time to get these going, and also risks graft failure (loss of growing year for that particular tree). But I’m hoping it pays off with a number of known quality cultivars.
In about 10 years, we should have a diverse foundation of grafted cultivars and good seedlings.
What I’d Do Differently
If I were starting over today, I’d still plant both grafted and seedlings, but I would start practicing grafting earlier.
Why? Because those early grafted trees give you something to show for your work while you wait on the seedlings. They give you nuts to taste, evaluate, and market. They give you scionwood to propagate. They give you confidence that this whole thing actually works.
The seedlings give you flexibility, diversity, and long-term potential at a fraction of the cost. But you need patience.
The Bottom Line
If you’re planting chestnuts for commercial production and you need quicker income, plant grafted trees that are suited to your growing climate. Yes, they’re expensive upfront. Yes, $2,100 for 60 trees makes you wince. But you’re buying time and certainty.
If you’re planting chestnuts as a long-term investment and you can wait a minimum of 7-10 years for production, seedlings make economic sense—especially if you’re willing to learn grafting. Your upfront cost is a fraction of grafted trees, and you maintain genetic diversity that could pay off big if you discover a superior tree in your planting.
If you’re like me and you’re not sure which bet to make, plant both. Start with enough grafted trees to give you early production and proven genetics. Fill in the rest with quality seedlings from known parentage. Then learn to graft, and convert some of your seedlings over time.
The worst seedlings? Cull them or let them grow for wildlife.
After seven years and sixty trees, that’s what the field has taught me. Grafted trees are worth the money if you can afford them. Seedlings are worth the wait if you have patience. And the smart play is probably both.
Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I use or would use on my own farm. Read my full disclosure policy.