ONLY SOLD AS BIGGER STANDARDS

Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, is a large, vigorous tree with good autumn colour and edible nuts. It will grow on any well-drained soil apart from chalk.

Sweet Chestnut is not suitable for a clipped hedge.
It can be grown as a screening tree up to about 30 metres high. It is a good, tall windbreak tree and is ideal for coppicing.

Browse all of our other varieties of Chestnut trees.

Sweet Chestnut plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).

Choosing a size:
When you are ordering a large quantity of Sweet Chestnut for a big planting project, we suggest that you buy smaller plants, graded at 40/60cms or 60/80cms. They are cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and more likely to cope well with poor conditions.
Use the larger, 120/150cms tall plants if you are just buying a few or if you want tall trees quickly.
All of our young trees are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

General description of Castanea sativa plants:
Sweet chestnut is a vigorous, deciduous tree with glossy green, lance head shaped leaves that have toothed edges and turn a smoked gold colour in autumn. Its yellow catkins are pollinated by bees and ripen into eating chestnuts in early winter, which are at their best after being roasted over a fire.
Old trees will develop monstrously thick, spreading branches and beautiful bark with a lattice of crossing ridges, but for the first hundred years or so of their lives, they will usually grow straight upwards with a fairly narrow canopy.

History & uses of Castanea sativa:
This is a very long-lived tree that is great for coppicing. Most of the oldest, most magnificent old sweet chestnuts were coppiced in the past, which greatly adds to their lifespan and character: the oldest trees may be up to 4,000 years old. The timber is good for stakes and outdoor furniture, as the wood is very resistant to rotting. However, once a trunk or branch grows to over 50cms in width, it will tend to split when it is sawn into planks.

Notes on planting Sweet Chestnut:
Sweet Chestnut trees are vigorous and will grow well in any well drained soil except chalk. They are hardy, but they don't bear good crops in Scotland unless the summer is hot and sunny. Established trees are very drought tolerant. They can grow on the coast.
They will not grow well if the site is very shady, wet or on chalk.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you intend to plant several months in advance. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.
If you have a heavy clay soil, it might be too difficult to dig over for most of the year. Heavy clay is fertile soil, so you don't really need to improve it; killing the weeds is still necessary.

Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a protective plastic spiral for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) £7.20 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Standard box (Bareroots up to 1.2m) £11.40 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Large box (Pots up to and incl. 7.5L) £15.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £100 inc VAT)
Trees & Hedging (Bareroots & trees 1.2m+) £18.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £120 inc VAT)
Pallets (Root balls, large pots, trees etc) £60.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £240 inc VAT)

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week in summer if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Misc	Edible Fruit / Nuts, Wildlife Value
Area	Coastal Areas
Soil	Acidic
Type	Screening

	Buy 11 or more bareroot plants and save

SIZES	1-10	11-50	51-250	251-1000	1001+
	Prices include VAT

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal and the despatching of bareroot plants is underway.

You can see Current Delivery Information Here. We are now taking orders for delivery in March 2021.

Bulbs in the Green are available to order today.

Order now for delivery in March.

Sweet Chestnut Saplings

Castanea sativa

Buckle and Strap Ties

From £2.40

Stakes, Tree Planting

From £5.76

Afterplant Tree & Shrub

From £6.95

ONLY SOLD AS BIGGER STANDARDS

Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, is a large, vigorous tree with good autumn colour and edible nuts. It will grow on any well-drained soil apart from chalk.

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies

LATEST VIDEO

Sign up!

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal and the despatching of bareroot plants is underway.

You can see Current Delivery Information Here. We are now taking orders for delivery in March 2021.

Bulbs in the Green are available to order today.

Order now for delivery in March.

Sweet Chestnut Saplings

Castanea sativa

Buckle and Strap Ties

From £2.40

Stakes, Tree Planting

From £5.76

Afterplant Tree & Shrub

From £6.95

ONLY SOLD AS BIGGER STANDARDS

Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, is a large, vigorous tree with good autumn colour and edible nuts. It will grow on any well-drained soil apart from chalk.

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies

LATEST VIDEO

Sign up!

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?