![]() Aesculus parviflora flowers begin to open from the base of the 8- to 12-inch panicle, revealing reddish stamens. |
![]() Leaves turn a clear light yellow in October. |
Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is a shade-tolerant native American shrub with ornamental features all year round. Rather slow-growing at first, it produces classic deep green hand-shaped foliage the first couple of years after planting. The plant becomes quite broad and spreading. It will colonize by suckers in an ideal location. Unique, feathery white blossoms begin to appear in the plant’s third or fourth summer in July. These are followed by sparse, knobby fruits containing shiny brown “buckeyes.” The leaves turn a clear lemon yellow in autumn, really illuminating a shady corner. The evenly spaced silver branches resemble deer antlers in wintertime. Bottlebrush buckeye is not browsed by deer, and is relatively unaffected by pests and diseases.
Common Name: Bottlebrush buckeye
Botanical Name: Aesculus parviflora
Color: White flowers
Blooming Period: Midsummer
Type: Hardy deciduous shrub
Size: Slowly reaches 10 feet tall by 12 feet wide
Exposure: Part shade to shade
When to Plant: Transplant (as balled-and-burlapped or from container) in spring or fall
Soil: Moist, well-drained organic soil
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5
Watering: Once a week during establishment period, no extra water thereafter.
When to Prune: Winter to late winter
When to Fertilize: Not necessary
In Your Landscape: Specimen or massed border; lovely planted under a tall shade tree, at least 5 feet from the tree’s trunk
From Ohio Gardener Volume III Issue IV. Photos courtesy of Ann McCulloh.
John Packard (Lake Geneva, WI.) - 07/20/2013
Bottlebrush Buckeye is slow growing but the size description is misleading (aren’t they all?). I have seen cultivated Bottlebrush Buckeye here in Wisconsin, 100s of miles from its native haunts, 15’ tall and 30’ wide.