Bottlebrush Buckeye

Fall in love with the shade-loving native Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parvifolia) as it catches the eye and captures the heart! Showy spring flower spires are held in terminal panicles, reaching high above the leaves in an exceptional display against the palm-shaped foliage that grows to cast deep shade in summer.

The elaborate upright flowers appear in the summer in clusters that are composed of many smaller white florets, each festooned with a showy red anther and smothered with an incredible array of Pollinators.

This medium-sized shrub is one of the first to leaf out in the spring. Thick, textured compound leaves are dark green and set the blooms off to perfection. Bottlebrush Buckeyes not only feature foot-long flowers and splendor in all four seasons of the year! Each compound leaf is comprised of five to seven leaflets, each thickly corrugated for a bold look.

Native Buckeyes are exceptional pollinator, wildlife, and bird-friendly deciduous plants! These smaller-sized plants grow just 8 to 12 feet in height but spread a bit wider at maturity. The blooms attract hummingbirds and a host of pollinators too! Wildlife and squirrels love the autumn crop of little Buckeye nuts. Note that these nuts are not edible for humans, but wildlife love them! Cold-hardy throughout USDA hardiness zones 4 to 8 and are adaptable to a wide range of conditions.

Planting and Application:

Hardy shrubby trees that boost biodiversity and native ecology, the Bottlebrush Buckeye is a suckering, spreading deciduous that can slowly take over out-of-the-way shady areas and create its groves. This is the perfect screening plant for you, plus erosion control, but it also creates wonderful cover and nesting for birds and wildlife!

Group or create rows atop hillsides and hard-to-mow areas, slow water runoff, and block wind. Also, a fantastic understory ornamental to fill in as a backdrop or privacy hedge. Buckeye are highly versatile plants for your woodland gardens or grouped as bird-friendly shelterbelts and windbreaks.

Limbing up the branches and exposing the multi-stemmed trunks will allow for an informal specimen planting for your front yard and other native plant displays, while still retaining all the qualities of a shade-loving flowering ornamental!

• Tall, Slender Showy White Panicles
• Wonderful Green Compound Foliage
• Nutlets For Wildlife & Ample Nectar For Pollinators
• Bird-Friendly Nesting, Cover & Roosting
• Naturalizes, Hedges, Shade-Gardens & Woodland Gardens

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Buckeye bushes handle full sun but prefer shade to part shade throughout USDA growing zones 4 through 8. Provide a well-drained moderately moist site with Nature Hills Root Booster and a healthy layer of arborist bark chips. Clean-up is easy since the first freeze causes all the foliage to drop, but not until you get to enjoy the yellow fall color. Prune for size and shape after flowering, and you can remove the suckers easily to maintain a tidy clump or a multi-stemmed tree or shrub form.

• Full Sun & Partial Sun
• Poor to Average, Well-Drained Soils on the Acidic Side
• Average to Low Moisture Once Established
• Drought Tolerant & Responds to Mulching Well
• Prune After Flowering

Fall in love with the showy native Bottlebrush Buckeye bush for your garden and wildlife! Attract birds and butterflies galore with hardy and easy-care natives with the help of NatureHills.com!