Cross pollination by a tree of different parentage is necessary. Trees are wind pollinated, though in Australia and New Zealand where bees are believed to enhance pollination, up to 10 hives per hectare are used. Around the world, both seedling and grafted trees are used in commercial groves. Delayed incompatibility at the graft union has limited the use of grafted trees, but grafting onto progeny seedlings seems to reduce this problem. Tissue culture is being tried in several countries to eliminate the need for grafting.
Success rates vary.
These tend to produce blight-tolerant trees which produce small to medium sized nuts. The nuts are quite sweet when properly cured. This species tends to produce larger nuts than the Chinese chestnut, but they are reportedly not as sweet. It also has a high tolerance to chestnut blight. The blight susceptible European-type chestnuts can also survive in the Midwest, but their true winterhardiness is suspect.