Horse Chestnut tree

How big/tall/old does a horse chestnut tree have to be before it starts producing conkers? My kids are driving me insane :-)

 

Not sure, but I planted one out that I rescued from a football pitch as a seedling in about 1993. Went back to Crewkerne & saw it a few weeks back, its about 15 foot tall now but no sign of flowers yet.

Do they have male & femail trees?

 

Yes Zigs they do - the male has catkins that produce the pollen and the female produces flowers that develop seeds. The seeds form in the pollinated female flower and the seeds then turn into the chestnuts.

Did you put a plaque on your tree 'Planted by Zigs'?

 

Thought they might Annie, just couldn't picture it.

Nah, my boy & I just planted it in a hedge where a road was due to be put thru for a new development on green fields, we were going to protest about the tree being cut down, but the recession came & the development fell thru.

 

No they dont. The conkers form on the remains of the flower stalk.

I had one flower at about ten years but I have a couple on the alotment site that are older but still no flowers after about 15 yrs.
I think the flowering age might be in the genes.

 

Sweet chestnuts grow male and female flowers but both form on the same tree.
The males are long catkins, the females are insignificant until fertilised

 

I have read that as the flowers die the pod develops around the seed which turns into the conker so it would be as Pete has said that where the flower was at the end of the stalk is where the conker develops.

 

I'd reckon about 30 years or so.