I was a builder for a good part of my life and think Chestnut is the perfect wood. Its strong, stiff, rot-resistant, durable, works easily and looks beautiful. Some 200+ year old homes have perfectly good underpinnings, even in our damp New England environment. However, Chestnut Trees suffer from the blight and no longer grow — at least American Chestnut doesn’t. I have many dozens of American Chestnut trees that continue to stump-shoot on my property. But then they all die when they reach ~20 feet tall, before they can produce seeds/nuts. Foresters and Biologists have been working long and hard to develop a blight-resistant strain with some promise. I had one American Chestnut tree grow tall enough to produce 2 nuts last year, but the tree died this year.
I just read this article about genetic experiments that show promise, but people are concerned about the impact of genetically altering trees. I hope the link works for those interested — http://northamptondaily.ma.newsmemory.com/?publink=09625c7ca
– Paul –
