Aesculus parviflora
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Tried and True Recommended by 8 Professionals
Common Name: bottlebrush buckeye
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Sapindaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Native Range: Southeastern United States
Height: 8 to 12 feet
Spread: 8 to 15 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Description: White with red anthers
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Leaves: Good Fall Color
Fruit: Showy Fruit
Wildlife: Attracts Butterflies
Tolerates: Dry Soil, Wet Soil, Deer, Rabbits
Uses: Erosion Control, Rain Garden, Will Naturalize

Culture

Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Prefers rich, moist loams. Intolerant of dry soils, particularly in the early years before its root system becomes well established. Pruning is usually unnecessary. Though native to rich woodland areas in Alabama, Georgia and northern Florida, it is winter hardy throughout USDA Zone 5.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Bottlebrush buckeye is noted for being one of the best summer-flowering shrubs for shade areas. It is a dense, mounded, suckering, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub which typically grows 6-12' tall. Features palmate green leaves (5-7 leaflets) and erect, showy, cylindrical panicles (to 12" long) of tubular white flowers with conspicuous red anthers and pinkish filaments. Mid-summer bloom can be spectacular. Flowers give way to glossy inedible, pear-shaped nuts (buckeyes) encased in husks, however these nuts are infrequently produced in cultivation in the northern parts of this shrub's growing range (including St. Louis). Foliage turns yellow in autumn. A very large planting of bottlebrush buckeye can be observed on both sides of the sidewalk leading south from the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Plant of Merit

Showy 12-inch long bottlebrush-like spikes of tiny white flowers cover this 6-12 foot tall shrub in a spectacular mid-summer floral display. Handsome dark green palmate foliage turns bright yellow in autumn. This is one of the best summer-flowering shrubs available for shady areas. Excellent as a specimen, in groups or massed.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.

Garden Uses

Excellent lawn specimen. Group or mass in shrub borders or woodland areas.

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