Aesculus parviflora (bottlebrush buckeye)

Bottlebrush buckeye is a captivating, native, and mammoth-sized shrub with tremendous white "bottlebrush" flowers. The flowers are perfectly named: bottlebrush buckeye aptly describes both the whiskery flowers and the buckeye-looking seeds.

The compound palmate leaves, reminiscent of windmill palm fronds, are distinctive.

You'll see this buckeye shrub in big parks or expanse sweeps of lawn with plenty of root space and that's appropriate - it layers and will colonize (that's good!) and the roots need rich soil and growing space to tap ample water.

The spikes of white flowers are showstoppers, then comes fall with the yellow leaf color and buckeyes (the seeds) popping out of their wrappers.

Collect those buckeyes and plant them! But . . . make sure the squirrels don't dig them up and eat them. Protect the seeds by covering your pots with chicken wire or bird netting until the seeds germinate in the spring.

Early Dormancy Alert: In my hot climate of zone 8a in extra hot summers, bottlebrush buckeyes sometime slip into early dormancy and we don't get much/any fall color.

By early dormancy, I mean the shrubs can entirely defoliate as early as September. Don't be alarmed - this is not a problem for buckeyes! Red and yellow buckeyes also go dormant early (these two can do so even in August), same with some cherries and hackberry trees, in our hot summers. It's how they handle heat stress and the plants are fine.

We have two related native buckeye tree species - red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava).

More will be available this fall 2020. 🌱 Please check back or email us to be put on the wait list.

• it's a slow-moving colonizer gently sending out lower branches that touch the ground and root to take over a large area, potentiall becoming a giant round shrub (some new branches may also come up from the roots)