Bottlebrush Buckeye Drought Tolerance?

5 years ago

I've seen bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora, listed both as drought tolerant and as drought intolerant. Can anyone comment on their experience with this shrub as it relates to the need for consistent moisture?

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Comments (5)

Embothrium
5 years ago
I wouldn't plant any eastern buckeye species in a soil that dried out during the summer.
Skip1909
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I planted 3 bareroot whips under a pin oak in late 2016. I mulched the planting area with composted stump grindings from a tree removal at the time of planting, and followed up with shredded leaves and wood chips in 2017 and 2018. They've been doing fine without any supplemental watering. They are near the bottom of a small slope in soil that drains very slowly. Standing water even forms at the bottom of the slope after prolonged rain, but hasnt hurt. 2017 was droughty but they were fine. Seems to suggest that with a soil high in organic material, mulch, and shade, they can handle dry periods. A neighboring nursery has some larger specimens in near full sun with a southeast exposure that look good too, but I dont know if they are watering them regularly.
User thanked Skip1909
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You should tell us where you are gardening (city, state, gardening zone) and advice will be better targeted. I have always been willing to excise chunks of my Aesculus parviflora and send them off to folks unable to procure them any other way. Probably too late in the spring this year, with bud break well underway. I wasn't part of this original thread, but had I been, I would have posted on what Bottlebrush Buckeye can do. I started off with a bunch (9? 10?) 2 gallon pots, installed in 1992 around the inside of a circular gravel drive They've grown together wonderfully, melding with the other plantings nearby. We've had some of the oldest trunks die off, but the layering and additional stems have provided a continuous surface of foliage and blooms, and propagules from the exuberant outward attempts to consume the driveway. It is also really easy to grow from the copious seed that can be set if you keep your plants reasonably moist through droughty periods in summer. September is harvest time here at the Valley. I don't think you can plant too many of these. Landscapes are built for editing - which can also translate into sharing - so if you perceive you've over-consumed, remove some or give them away. Planting too little is also easily overcome by addition - which is what I expect the original landscape design was attempting to avoid.
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Ego45 - that is absolutely stupendous. I love A. parviflora. How old is it and how much water/sun? Of course keeping one like that going is a different story than getting them started. There is one that size at Holden Arboretum and I am just totally in love with it. I make a point of visiting it in the summertime when in bloom - prob my favorite single plant in the whole arboretum. I've inquired at several nurseries around here and told I can get a 1 or 2 gallon plant for about $50 and they say its slow growing. I have a very large area that I wanted to surround with it and hide the area from the road, and have a long curved bench in the middle. I was thinking of starting burning bush as a fast grower to allow the Aesculus to fill in. Can always rip out the Euonymous later. Westy - That goatsbeard lasts maybe a month. Then the plumes do turn brown. The plant is very pretty though - nice leaves. If I get a lot of rain during blooming it will cause the plumes to lean but I don't bother tying it up. A benefit for me is it appears to be deer resistant - they don't touch it at all. I love color, its just this path is devoted to hosta, ferns, azaleas, columbine, leucoethoe, rhodos, etc. It seems that a lot of shade plants have white flowers. A big exception are the lobelias and they are just terrific
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Is that possibly a window you might have open for fragance? I think goodwin creek lavender will do ok there. 3 dwarf bottlebrushes 'little john' would work also and attract hummingbirds with a hummer feeder hanging would give you plenty to watch. For lower plants western columbine would work also and they will self seed and propogate.
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Ornamental pomegranate, it blends right in to a Mediterranean landscape. It can be like a tiny bush-like tree. If you're in climate zone 10, dwarf natal plum is pretty drought tolerant, the little white flowers are pleasant smelling at night (better smelling than jasmine, in my opinion) but it has a lot of spikes. The little red fruits (when fully ripe) can also be made into preserves.
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Embothrium
5 years ago
In other words if a site is not likely to be drying out much if at all then they can live there.
User
Original Author
5 years ago
I can't comment on Skip's situation, but where I am some low areas can collect water during the wetter times of year but still dry out during periods of summer drought. So without more information I would not make the assumption that an area that can collect water remains moist even during periods of drought.
Skip1909
5 years ago
That is exactly the situation in my yard. Late winter there are ponds and mud, and by late summer the soil is dry and as hard as concrete.

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Bottlebrush Buckeye Drought Tolerance?

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Bottlebrush Buckeye Drought Tolerance?

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Embothrium

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