Attract Deer and Other Wildlife with the Realtree Nursery Dunstan Chestnut
OutdoorHub 02.28.13
The chestnut tree was once the most common tree in eastern North America and the most important source of mast for game and wildlife. Sadly, it was almost wiped out in the early 1900s during a blight that killed off 30 million acres of trees. Thankfully, the chestnut is making a comeback in the form of the Dunstan Chestnut™.
Now the most widely planted chestnut tree in America, the blight-resistant Dunstan Chestnut tree bears nuts in only two to four years and produces more high quality nutrition per acre than any oak species or hybrid. It has a regular annual bearing (no skipped years like all oak species) and excellent production – 2,000+ lbs/acre or more. One tree will bear 10 to 20 lbs of nuts by the time it is 10 years old, which is before most oaks even start to produce.
High in carbohydrates (40%) and protein (10%), the sweet-tasting nuts and have no bitter-tasting tannin like oaks, which make them irresistible to deer. Dunstan Chestnuts bear crops for 50 to 100 years or more, with no replanting, providing an excellent, cost-efficient way for attracting and holding deer on your property. Because of its ability to adapt to different slopes, soil types and locations, the tree can be planted in more sites than annual food plots.
In addition to being an excellent foot plot tree, Dunstan Chestnuts provide an ideal way for rebuilding native forests after logging.
