Here's a pic of one of the best so far. It's close to 18" tall already after just sprouting in late April!

This one is a keeper for the front yard!

Nice seedlings. Hybrid chestnut - cross between American and Chinese by chance? Wonder how the nuts taste. I heard they do not taste that great, but I would still like to try them.

I have had fun starting trees from seeds as well. I have one catalpa from seed that is now around fifty feet high. I have several horse chestnuts/buckeyes (very easy to start) that I started from seeds, the best one is now around twenty feet tall. Decent fall color. Only wish the nuts were edible. I have several eastern white cedars that I started from seed that are now around fifteen feet tall (easy to start). I also have a few black hills spruce, black walnut, white pine, juniper, silver maple, red oak, white oak, green ash, black locust, European and American mountain ash, flowering crab, and Manchurian apricot that I started from seed as well.

It was a fun hobby but I have not started any trees from seed in quite a few years because I figured I am now too old to ever see them get big.

I would love a hybrid chestnut someday, they have always been on my wish list. Let me know some time if you get a sales scheme figured out.

BTW as you stated in your other thread do consider selling at farmers markets, and think about some kind of tie-in to Arbor Day and Earth Day, possible sales to 4H and Scouts for their kids' planting programs, sales at county fairs (out here sales booths are free or inexpensive because it is hard for the small fairs to fill their expo buildings), selling at city-wide garage sales (in towns around here people often divide and sell some nice perennials along with their household crap), and small town business expos. And get some kind of cheap (but professional looking) web site up, if nothing else to be used as a promotional tool and product list that people can reference.

Also consider packages such as 5 different evergreens, 5 different hardwoods, 5 different edible nuts, 5 different food for wildlife, 5 different fall colors, 5 different fast growing, five different edible fruit, etc. Give 'em a deal - buy 5 trees get one free or whatever.

No matter what, the stock you are selling should always be in good health and be nice quality (it is all about presentation - I for one never buy sickly looking plants), or you will not have a chance against the local established nurseries and cheap mail order products (crappy quality but people get suckered in by cheap prices and a pretty picture). I know the thought sucks but at least consider some kind of product warranty - it would probably help sales by increasing customer comfort level.

Find a fair price but do not low ball - if you have good stock then you deserve a fair price. Price too low implies poor quality or some kind of fly-by-night operation.

Good luck, and have fun,
-Tom

I forgot to mention - be careful regarding starting tree varieties with taproots and leaving them in pots for too long. Be aware that the taproot will curl around and deform in the pot. When this happens and the tree is finally planted, the taproot will grow and may choke itself off, eventually crippling or killing the tree. I have had this happen a few times - I lost some trees five to ten years after planting. They did great then half the tree or the entire thing would just die. I dug a few up and found choked roots. It was my fault because I either kept them in the pots too long and did not trim the taproot or I simply did not plant them properly. Either way it sucks to lose nice juvenile trees for this reason.

Take the black walnut for example. When young the taproot length will equal or exceed the above ground growth. Have a three foot b.w. in a pot and you will have a seriously messed up taproot that will almost certainly kill the tree eventually.