We are seeking confirmed wild-type American chestnuts for our restoration breeding here at Penn State University. It is important to expand our germplasm conservation orchard with new sources of wild-type American chestnuts as we look forward to incorporating the D58 and other advances into our orchard stock.
What is a confirmed wild-type American chestnut? If you submitted a tree locator form to TACF and received a response confirming that your tree is an American chestnut, we’d like to get nuts from you. We can use nuts from any location but we are setting the following locations as high priority.
Southwest corner of Pennsylvania
Northwest corner of Pennsylvania
Northeast corner of Pennsylvania
Southeast corner of Pennsylvania
And anywhere in New Jersey
Packing nuts to ship:
> Remove the nuts from the burs
> Pack them in a small zip lock baggy with a small amount of peat, slightly damp but not soggy. Poke 10 or 20 tiny holes in the baggy with a pin.
>Be sure to include your contact information along with the latitude and longitude of the tree or the TreeSnap ID.
Ship nuts to:
Pennsylvania State University
PA/NJ TACF
108 Research A Modular Lab
University Park, PA 16802
Please note: Issues with USPS and shipping labels: Penn State University is in the process of reverifying all of the addresses at the University Park Campus. We are receiving mail but if you are attempting to create a label for a package, through the USPS website or other metering platform, the address will be rejected because it hasn’t been verified by USPS.
Similarly, your local post office may at first reject a package. If this happens, please ask them to defer the verification of the address. We have been assured that they are able to defer verification but if they refuse please call our office. Once the package reaches University Park the campus post office will deliver it.
Questions? Contact our office: 814-863-7192 | mail@patacf.org
help our new Orchard Manager open burs and count seeds for winter storage. We will provide gloves, water, and snacks. We will have a few metal folding chairs but you are welcome to bring a camp chair if you’ll be more comfortable. Spend a few hours or stay all day!
West Milford is very close to the New York border, in a rural setting with a small-town vibe. It’s the perfect venue to chat about the American chestnut on a Saturday in October. Check out this video:
