Horse Chestnut seedling with unusual looking leaves

8 years ago

I currently have two Horse Chestnut seedlings - one is about three weeks
old and already about 10 inches tall, the other is about ten days old
and about 6 inches tall. Both were inside until a few days ago when I
started to place them outside during the day, bringing them inside at
night.

The oldest, tallest one looks great - it has a nice set of good sized leaves.

The youngest one is "strange" and I'm sure it's not the age as its leaves aren't developing in the same way.

The leaves on the eldest are broad, horizontal and flat.

The leaves on the youngest are curled back on themslves, almost like an
umbrella or a dome - in fact, a better example would be a palm tree
standing up to very strong winds. They are also a pale green while the
ones on the eldest seedling are darker in colour.

I picked up the seeds last autumn from different trees, although I don't
recall the mature trees looking any different to each other.

Maybe they are simply different species of Horse Chestnut and the
youngest one is simply like that because, well, that's the way it grows?

Each are in their own 20cm pot.

Any thoughts please?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
need a pic to go anywhere with this ...

i hope in going from inside to outside.. you didnt go straight into full sun ...

ken
themadhedger
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'll have to see if I can crank up the old camera, might not be until tomorrow though.

Before putting it outside it had spent about the first week of its life in an east facing window (as did the older tree) - basically when it went outside it went underneath the same window (as did the other one) so both were receiving sunlight in the morning only. In other words both have had the exact same growing conditions, but the youngest one went outside a little earlier in its life.

Having said that, an additional observation - even while the leaves were forming on the youngest one (and while it was still inside) the leaf formation was "odd" and even then they were a pale green, almost yellow.

In addition to the above I should have added this to the above message: the "umbrealla" leaf formation is getting tighter and tighter.

Also, the leaves are quite firm, so it doesn't appear to be "wilting" as such. The stem is still good and straight too.

Not sure if that helps with the diagnosis.
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And if it is the flower buds, rather than the leaf buds/growth tips, being eaten, then you will get no, or fewer, flowers this spring. I don't know if they would work, so am offering it only as a suggestion - but one of the critter-ridder sprays, probably one that claims to deter groundhogs or rabbits, might work. I know red pepper/cayenne powder will mostly keep squirrels out of my bird feeders (I mix it with the seed), but didn't stop a raccoon from taking several feeders down from the hooks at night, and dragging them off into the bushes if they were hard to open (hanging the feeders from light ropes did the trick). If you are dealing with a large tree, the suggestion becomes impractical. It might be too late for this year, but you could make yourself a note and spray next year at this time or a bit earlier. The other thing to remember is that the trees evolved with bud-eating "varmints", so it probably won't kill the tree unless the varmint (whatever it is) keeps it up over the entire spring and summer, for a couple of years. The tree won't get bigger, or will do so more slowly than it might otherwise, but it will probably live, as long as the varmint moves on soon. Whatever the "varmint" is, it is probably attracted to the nutrient-rich buds, in the absence of other foods. You could always "give in to it", in a sense, and put out some other food that it can get to - either bird seed, suet or peanut butter come to mind. This would at least keep it from the chestnut buds. It would also, unfortunately, teach it to look to you for food, so it's a toss up.
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Huggorm
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Ultraviolet light does not shine through glass, so the plants will have a shock when they come outside. But it sounds like your plant had problems even before that.
themadhedger
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Good point about UV light, I hadn't thought of that. But, as you say, it did seem to have problems before it was put outside. Also, the eldest plant seems perfectly happy now it's outside.

Have now managed to upload two photos from different "sides" of the leaf growth area on the youngest one with the apparent leaf problem. As for size, the "umbrella" leaf area is about 1.5 inches in diameter.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g319/Dalek99999/P5050970.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g319/Dalek99999/P5050971.jpg
Huggorm
8 years ago
Those looks like leaves that are only partly finished. That is pretty much what they look like on a horse chestnut tree just after the buds are opening
themadhedger
Original Author
8 years ago
I was wondering that too (just after taking the photos) but the eldest seedling didn't develop them like that (they basically went horizontal pretty fast then opened right up), plus the leaves of the youngest one in the photos are actually becoming "tighter" as time goes by, like an umbrealla slowly folding up.

Horse Chestnut seedling with unusual looking leaves

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Horse Chestnut seedling with unusual looking leaves

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

themadhedgerOriginal Author

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