My Deer Garden

Plant record · Tree · Fagaceae

Is Chinese Chestnut deer resistant?

Castanea mollissima

Chinese Chestnut
Damage step 3 of 4 · Occasionally Severely Damaged

Partly. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.

Type
Tree
Hardiness
Zones 4–8
Light
Full sun
Height
480–720 in
Bloom
Spring and Summer
Maintenance
Low
Family
Fagaceae

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Chinese Chestnut

The chestnut people actually plant, because American chestnut is functionally extinct above ground: blight killed roughly four billion trees in the first half of the twentieth century and the surviving root systems still send up shoots that die before they can bear. Chinese chestnut is blight-resistant and does the job.

For anyone planting to hold deer on a property, this is the highest-value nut tree available. It bears in three to five years rather than the twenty-plus a white oak needs, and it drops a heavy crop every year instead of the boom-and-bust cycle oaks run on. Chestnuts also carry far more carbohydrate and far less tannin than acorns, which is why deer strip them first and clean them up completely.

It wants full sun and acidic, well-drained ground. It will not tolerate heavy clay or a high water table, and it will not fruit properly in shade. Plant at least two for pollination.

Young trees need a tube or cage for the first three or four years. The same deer you are planting for will browse the leader off a sapling and set it back a season.

Protecting Chinese Chestnut

Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so decide on the options before it gets browsed rather than after.

  1. 1Protecting a young treeBrowsing costs a season. A buck rubbing a two-inch stem in October girdles it and kills it outright.
  2. 2How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  3. 3Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  4. 4Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.

What to plant instead of Chinese Chestnut

Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, and rated better for deer. If Chinese Chestnut keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.

Soil and care

Soil pH
5 to 6.5
Drainage
Well drained
Water
Moderate
Growth rate
Moderate
Maintenance
Low

Tolerances and uses

Attracts birds

Where Chinese Chestnut grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — not hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Chinese Chestnut

Is Chinese Chestnut deer resistant?
Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged, step 3 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
What hardiness zones does Chinese Chestnut grow in?
Chinese Chestnut is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Chinese Chestnut grow in shade?
No. Chinese Chestnut wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
How big does Chinese Chestnut get?
Mature height is roughly 480–720 in. Growth rate is moderate.

Browse from here

Every list Chinese Chestnut belongs to.

All trees·Sometimes destroyed·Full sun plants·Mast and fruit trees

Hardy in these zones

Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .