The Hog Haven Torture Test: Floods, Hogs, and "Leftover" Trees

A Profile of Our Arkansas Proving Ground

What happens if you plant chestnut trees on river-bottom land that floods? What happens if you add wild hogs and a summer drought? And what happens if you try to do it with zero weed control?

We wanted to know.

Welcome to "Hog Haven," our Proving Ground south of Fort Smith, Arkansas. This property is our official "torture test." It's where we find the absolute limits of our trees and our methods, all to answer the toughest questions our customers ask.

At Hog Haven, we're testing four key variables:

• Water Tolerance: Can our chestnuts survive 2-3 floods per year (lasting less than 48 hours)?

• Product Performance: Can "Miracle Tubes" and our staking methods withstand floods and heavy hog activity?

• Regional Limits: Can our Northern Pecan varieties handle the heat of the south?

• Planting Time: Is a Southern December planting viable?

The story of this orchard is a powerful lesson in why genetic quality and basic maintenance are the two most important factors for success. But first, you have to understand the terrain we are dealing with.

The Lay of the Land

Hog Haven isn't a perfectly manicured garden; it is 120 acres of rugged Northwest Arkansas landscape.

Nestled in a valley between two small mountain ranges in the Ouachita National Forest, the property sits right on the banks of a rolling river. It was historically used as a grazing field for hay baling, meaning the soil is compacted and tough.

The property offers us two distinct, extreme environments to test in:

1. The River Bottom: Half the property sits low on the river bank. It has deep soil but is prone to flash flooding.

2. The Shale Ridge: The upper half of the property sits on a shelf of shale rock, offering a completely different challenge for root systems and drought tolerance.

It is a beautiful property, but it is not an easy one. And that’s exactly why we bought it.

The "Year 1" Experiment: A Brutal, Honest Test

We had been looking to expand our testing to the south, and when this property became available in the summer of 2023, we knew it was the perfect fit.

In that first year, we didn't have trees specifically allocated for the site, but we did have a pile of "leftover" seedlings—trees that didn't meet our high standards to ship to a customer.

Instead of tossing them out, we decided to give them a chance. We planted 400 of these hybrid chestnuts in December 2023.

Then, we did the unthinkable: for the entire first year, we performed zero mowing and zero weed control. We wanted to see what would happen in a true "survival of the fittest" scenario.

The results were predictable, but validating:

• We had around a 50% replant rate—half the trees failed.

• The property was hit with significant flooding, which knocked down many of our tubes and stakes.

• The competition from un-mowed weeds was devastating to the young, already-struggling trees.

This experiment gave us an invaluable baseline. It proved that a combination of low-grade seedlings and zero maintenance is a recipe for failure. It served as a stark reminder: invest in high-grade seedlings, use proper tree protection, and keep up with your field maintenance for the best results.

The "Year 2" Turnaround: The Proof is in the Genetics

In December 2024, we did it right.

We planted 600 hybrid chestnuts that were intentionally grown for this project—the same high-quality, customer-grade stock we ship every day. We also committed to a basic weed control and mowing program.

The difference is night and day.

• Survival: Our survival rate on this new batch is over 85%.

• Growth: After a disappointing first year, the Year 2 growth is explosive. A quarter of the trees have already grown out of their 6-foot-tall "Miracle Tubes".

• Production: We've already seen a few husks in Year 2, and we are optimistic for a measurable crop in Year 3.

Seedling planted in 2024.

The Takeaway: What Hog Haven Proves

Hog Haven is the ultimate case study for our entire philosophy.

Lesson 1: Genetics are Everything. The "leftovers" failed. Our customer-grade stock, in the exact same brutal environment, is thriving. This is the most powerful proof that our rigorous process to weed out the low-grade trees works! We take the 50% loss on our end, so you get the 90%+ survival-rate trees.

Lesson 2: Chestnuts Can Handle "Wet Feet" (Briefly). We've now proven that our hybrid chestnuts can and do survive repeated, short-duration (sub-48-hour) flooding, even as young trees.

Lesson 3: Weed Control is Non-Negotiable. Genetics matter, but you can't ask a young tree to compete with 5-foot-tall weeds. Mowing and weed control are essential for that explosive Year 1 and 2 growth.

Lesson 4: In a Floodplain, Stakes Matter as Much as Tubes. The "Miracle Tubes" have held up exceptionally well against deer and hogs. However, the floods taught us that standard stakes are the weak point. We are now testing new staking methods to keep tubes upright after a flood.

Miracle tubes from Tree Pro help protect our trees. When you buy a tree from Morse Nursery, you're not just getting a seedling. You're getting the survivor of our Arkansas torture test. You're getting the tree that met our highest standards—the one that proved it could handle floods, hogs, and drought and still explode out of its tube.