They're lovely, as are a. pavia and both are underused in the landscape. My pavia bloomed early this year because of the pressure on them from the April heat wave, but I still have a few in the allee in their glory. The hummers are absent this year for the first time in my memory and I watched as the true bumble bees tried to get into the 'bugles' of the pavia to do their thing, and couldn't.

Do not let the nuts dry out very long before getting them planted. I have best results from harvesting them just as the husks start to split and planting immediately. They're at risk as well for theft from rodents. I usually hedge my bets on Ohio Buckeye by starting some in pots with wire over them, and burying some immediately outside into soft soil and leaf litter. I don't have to stratify A. pavia, and start them in the g'house in sand flats with 100% success rate........but I suspect A. carnea will need to be cold treated. I don't know if you could use any of the parental stock like A. pavia on which to graft but I suspect that chip or whip grafts would be successful if you can get compatible rootstock. If you could get mama tree to hang in there a couple years, you'd have scion stock or buds handy for your new seed-started rootstock. Idabean..........no, I didn't take offense at your comments. I think I took it like you meant it. I like it too when the whole peanut gallery chimes in with their thoughts on a subject. Horse chestnuts and buckeyes just happen to be one of my passions and some years I start upwards of a hundred trees. Some of my babies are all over this county, I suspect.

mine is Aesculus x carnea 'O'Neill Red' is that a horse chestnut????? the kids have 3 nuts sitting on the porch.. wondering if i should make them disappear... and then wait 10 years ... actually.. how many years would you figure to bloom???? any further opinion .??? ken ps: there is frankly.. nothing more beautiful in regard to wood patterns.. than a chestnut.. IMHO ....

Ken, you are full of interesting thoughts lately. Within a couple years it will have healed over completely and the two scabs will have grown together, leaving a small void in the center that will be less and less a factor relative to all the wood surrounding it when it comes to the strength of the tree. However, won't this violate your concerns about included bark? I suggest you create a small time capsule and insert it into the crack while you still can, then fill it with liquid nails so that you will have the tree nailed together in the center. I'd leave it. The tree will never get big enough to fall on the house or anything it can really hurt. As to the future threat to the Mother-in-Law or others who are standing under the tree in an ice storm, heavy wet snow, tornado, etc., that would just be the Darwin Principle at work and they would be a minor Darwin award winner for not coming in the house under nasty conditions. I think you can beat the premeditated murder wrap that you planted the tree, let it sunscald, left the tree for 20 years to get massive, knowing your Mother-in-Law would stand out under the tree in a tornado. I bet Pinocchio could get you off charges like that!