Does anyone know how easy it is to start a horsechestnut tree from seed? Does the seed need a certain amount of cold temperature before they will germinate or not? Is the seed ready to plant once it leaves the husk? Any help would be appreciated.Thanks, Frank J.
Very easy. My son used to do it all the time when he was a child. Fresh from the husk, into ordinary potting soil, and leave it outside somewhere where it won't get knocked over by cats, and it'll germinate in the spring. I really don't know what to do with the one in a pot in the back garden, we haven't room for such a big tree as it will become, but I don't want to get rid of it as it's the last one he did. Actually, I suspect they put out a root fairly soon, and the shoot later, but I'm not sure about that.
Very easy as Nic says, with one major proviso: the nut must be fresh. If it has dried out, it is dead. Nuts collected last autumn won't germinate now, unless they have been kept cool and moist over the winter.
Thank you both very much.I was trying to get this information for a freind of mine who asked me and I wasn't sure. He has tried it in the past but i think he probably was trying seeds from the previous fall that had dried up. Thanks again, Frank
