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.

Mindy__ What method do you use to keep them small? I have several and right now I am growing them in pots for size containment. I would like to plant them in a small wooded area at the rear of the property, but they would need to be restricted in size, for protection of many other native plants and shrubs now growing there. I now have them in the front garden and they are starting to bloom. They are a great addition in their present location, but I'm concerned about their long term survival, as the roots are restricted and they require frequent irrigation, in the long term absence of rainfall. (Like now!) They are about 5 years old and 5-6 ft. tall and are single stem (trunk) shrubs. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi, Not a lot blooming here that is from South Africa. However, one plant is a constant performer on an irregular schedule. Kniphofia rooperi bloomed in December, and January, and July and is putting up another spike now. It has been 100 degrees lately, and the plant is apparently quite happy in a regular flower bed with water every 5-7 days. By contrast the daylilies are looking pretty ragged. It is less than 2 years in the ground and seems intent on becoming a giant mound 2 or 3 feet tall by 5 or 6 feet across, I guess I'll have to trim soon--maybe divide it. It was evergreen last winter, temperatures reach as low as 25-26 F even while it was blooming. It does not set seed, so I presume it is self-sterile. Does anyone know if plants in this genus tend to be self-sterile? Cordially,

I haven't won any "major awards" lately, so I'll take it ;) Per MOBOT's PlantFinderSecurinega is "considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese herbalism." And according to Randy Stewart's blog it is"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED in Canada and northern parts of the U.S.!!! It can be trained as a small tree. Older plants have a very attractive appearance, often resembling that of a miniature Weeping Willow."