This is my first posting so please bear with me if I've posted to the wrong thread. In downtown Edmonton, Alberta, surrounded by metal fencing in a parking lot, there is a magnificent horse chestnut. My husband was down for a conference and parked in the multi-level parkade of the hotel located near the tree. From the second level of the parkade, he was able to retrieve a prickly green thing (nut?) larger than a ping pong ball. There was an article a few years ago about the tree which has been in the same spot since the 1920s. The tree was started by an early settler whose farm was where Jasper Avenue and 101st Street are. It is thought that the settler brought it from Ontario or the U.S. The city of Edmonton has done it's best to preserve the tree with the help of employees from a nearby Bank of Hong Kong, and a tree business. I live six hours north-west of Edmonton and I don't get to see nut bearing trees of any kind. I saw a walnut tree with its nuts encased in a hard rind some 35 years ago in St. Catharine's, Ontario, so I know the rind will fall off and the nut will be exposed. What is the best procedure for getting this nut to grow? Do I plant it, rind and all? It gets cold up here and wind chills can be extreme. If I plant it now, will it last the winter? How deep do I plant it? In the winter, my acreage has a lovely southern exposure, the west winds are frequently strong and usually warm, we get the odd chinook, and the north winds are blocked by two areas of bush. I would certainly appreciate any advice.
Plant fresh fruits in protected pots or special seed bed, where you can keep them weeded, maybe put wire over them if rodents might interfere.
I live in a part of Ontario where horse chestnut trees grow all over the place. I have several in my back yard - mostly planted there by the squirrels. They chew the outer husk off the nut, which is a shiny dark brown and then plant them all over the place. I'm sure if you just stuck it into some fertile ground it would grow. My neighbour has one started in a large wooden vat on her back deck. They are very nice shade trees but you have to do a fair bit of clean up in the fall if you want to keep the surrounding area looking nice. Remember the horse chestnut is poisonous so don't plant on roasting any.
