BillMN, you shouldn't have any trouble growing them from seed. Here's the Homestead Buckeye (flava x glabra) in my backyard (photo earlier this evening 8-29-23)

Just for fun, here are some developing A. glabra fruits from early last summer (6/8/22). Pretty spiky at that stage

Thanks Adave!

I have a long enough winter that it should be no problem meeting the 120 day cold stratification period.

I'll try a couple in pots too and put them outside later in October.

🤞

Bill said:

"I have a few more drying now. I'll check or more by middle of Sept."

You alarmed me with that comment. DO NOT dry these kinds of oily seeds, lest ye wish to have poor to no germination.

There in lies the problem.

With squirrels being the only rodent that eats buckeyes, and the limited nuber of trees I have to collect from,

If I wait until they are completely ripe on the tree,

there will most likely be none left to find.

But the work 'Dry' is rather ambiguous, I'm just talking about waiting for the husk to split and the buckeye is brown before I place them into stratification.

And that's exactly what you should not do. Once collected, refrigerate and keep moisture level up. The husks will split regardless.

A great text to ask for as a gift, or look for discounted: Seeds of Woody Plants of North America. Pretty much everything anybody needs to know to gain successful care, germination and growth of seeds.

https://shortleafpine.org/media/publications/seeds-of-woody-plants-in-north-america-revised-and-enlarged-edition

The same info is probably online somewhere, as Agriculture Handbook 450.

Okay, Thanks!

Looks like the next ones I collect will be going in the fridge.

Should I put them in a plastic, air tight baggie or will ambient air keep them moist?

For as long and hot of a season as we've had, the conkers have been slow to ripen.

I checked in my book 'The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation' by Dirr & Heuser jr.

They were less emphatic about the possibility of not germinating but did mention germination rate could drop from 85% down to 65% over time.

They did suggest that conkers could be left in a warm room until they dehisce. Then immediately put into wet stratification. We'll see. :^)

I'll just have to collect enough to compensate for less than 100% germination.

They also confirmed that squirrels usually win the race to harvest the conkers once ripe. :-|

Biked up to collect a few more today. ;-)

And bagged the ones collected a few days ago. Put both in fridge for now.

Still quite a few on this tree but that could change without notice. ha-ha.

I checked another tree I noticed on the way to the A. Glabra, it was most likely A. Flava, so I won't be collecting from that tree either.

Thanks again for the info VV! :-)

bill

These are the easiest things in the world to grow from seed. Just bury them in the ground now and you'll have great success. I get numerous seedlings every year from what the squirrels take and bury from my tree.

^__ Thanks L.! That would be great! :-)

And a real time saver at that.

I have read that Aesculus can be difficult to transplant, because they produce a dominant tap root early on. But being I have a location already in mind, I'll prepare that now, when weather is nice and put a seed in there later in October, before the ground freezes. Brilliant! :-)

I generally follow the rule, expect the best but plan for the worst. So, I'll try some mixed methods in parallel, JIC one doesn't work, the others might.

Thanks for a great idea!

Between my buckeye and the black walnut down the street I get trees popping up all over the place including the raised beds and pots that I don't empty the soil out of over the winter.

I have a love/hate relationship with my buckeye. I wish whoever planted it hadn't put it where they did, overhanging the driveway, front walk and steps. It's a tree that truly is always dropping something. I won't cut it down though. Just keep a good electric blower handy and charged at all times.

Nice to hear from those who have experience with these, good and bad.

I've noticed that too, when people plant a tree they like, it ends up planted 'in your face' next to the driveway and front entrance, or right by the road.

I like to plant my yard so you can walk and explore, to find something neat right around the next corner. ;-)

I'm not fixated so much on planting lone 'Specimen Trees' even though I have some. It might be that I spent a long time living in a wooded area and I noticed how well multiple tree species can coexist where someone else might say they are planted too close together.

My planting area for the Aesculus:

22 ft. wide area (I may come out a foot or two more yet).

It will provide partial shade for the Korean maple. The rock is a non-factor. The P. Mugo is a shrub type and the Aesculus is more than the mature spread away from that.

I learned long ago it's better to have some shade from a plant growing in sandy ground than to have the sun baking the sand that shows through the dead grass of summer.

Good thing DW wants me to keep the center of back yard open for GKs to play wiffle ball and throw a football or I'd have that area clogged too. ;-)

Time to start up with the neighbors...

VV Not sure I know what you mean?

eta: Oh, if you're talking about the mature size, I don't think it will be a problem.

In our poor sandy soil, it would be something if it ever got to be 25' tall and 20' wide and that's if I were to water and fertilize it frequently.

This is not your southern Minnesota black loam soil where things grow to be monsters. ;-)

FWIW: The sketch of the yard I put in the 'juglans for yard tree' thread had an error, the distance between the mugo pine and the korean maple said 15' and it's really more than 20', putting the location for the Aesculus a little over 20' away from the property line. I don't think it will ever get 40' wide in my 20' deep of pure sand. Our soil and climate is just too poor for that.

:-)

What I meant: when you've reached capacity for trees/plants in YOUR yard, then you "... start up with the neighbors..."

Improve their landscapes with the plants you no longer have room for, but would like to have growing where you can see them. The concept of a "neighborhood arboretum" will follow not far behind.

Well, I'm only half Polish but you still have to 'splain things to me sometimes. lol

For the lurkers/readers:

Instead of removing the sod as I've done many, many in times past, when preparing a mulch bed, being I know this is coming ahead of time, I drew the circle (3 ft. dia.) and sprayed a grass/weed killer inside the circle.

I'll leave it for a few days and at my leisure, turn the sod/soil over and loosen/aerate the soil.

The sod will add OM to the soil and be a lot less work than removing the sod.

Add mulch and seed bed will be ready to go for a buckeye tree.

I suppose it is possible some of the trees you are seeing are older selections like Homestead or Autumn Splendor given your location.

You don't need to remove or spray the sod. So long as the grass isn't a stoloniferous species, you can just slice under it and invert the pieces. You get the OM but without the monetary or environmental cost of using herbicide.

Thanks floral, for the tip.

We do have what we call 'Quack grass', I believe is Elymus repens.

I think it's the reason I started using a little glyphosate. The runners will start in from around the outside edges and begin popping up inside the mulch ring, Grrrr.

Pennlake,

The last one I looked at was planted a few years ago by someone trying to sell the empty lot.

The one in the cemetery is at least a few years older but the one by the old historic house trunk is 10-12" in diameter and only ~15' tall. Looks to have had a tough life with a hollow cavity in the trunk and a top that was broken off sometime in the past.

They're anybody's guess FWICT. :-)

Aesculus Autumn Splendor fruit (8/31/23)

I love seeing A. hippocastanum in full bloom.

Red horse chestnuts in a local park.

Another white one

And my favourite for flowers, A indica.

For some reason I don't see flava or glabra round here.

Here's the one by the old house just down the road.

A stark reminder of neglect, poor soil, droughts and cold winters.

Of course, when you have an experience gardener/farmer at the helm, it makes a world of difference. ;-)

I visited a specimen of Autumn Splendor that I knew about and the few things that stood out were excellent leaf quality given the summer we've had and the relatively smooth husk compared to the ones on my buckeye tree.

I can see why they call you people 'Enablers' lol.

I'll wait another week and see if there are any left on the tree.

I had to soak my planting circle a few times just to get the shovel in the ground.

I'll get it ready next week so any time I think to have the last of the seeds, it'll just be to stick one in the ground and put a screen around it for the winter.

Been hotter than blazes lately but supposed to cool off next week.

Thanks for all the tips and information. :^)

Chanced across this yellow buckeye today near Flint, MI

Looks healthy.

It had clean, unblemished foliage and a nice oval habit (taller than wide). Most yellow buckeyes I see in this area seem to be quite healthy. I'd rate it the best species for foliage quality late in the season.

9-4-2023:

Taking advantage of 'The Cool of the Morning', I finished preparing the planting site.

Mound of freshly aerated soil over a foot deep.

Mulched and ready to go.

Now it'll be 'Tree Boy' vs. the Squirrels. ;^))

9-6-2023:

Biked up to the A. glabra tree this AM.

The tree is beginning to turn Fall colors. Red at that! ;-)

A dozen or two buckeyes still on the tree and although the prickles are turning brown, there was no splitting of the husks, and some husks still have a greenish haze in a few spots, although they are more brown than last week.

So, these went in the fridge for now (dated).

Just hoping they're ripe enough to use for seeds.

A Minnesota source report early Sept. to end of October for ripening dates so I'm getting in the ballpark.

I'll check again in a week and see if any are left.

:-)

The squirrels have mostly stripped my buckeye of seeds in the last week or so making the usual mess all over the driveway and sidewalk. They seem to like to dehusk the seed while in the tree then climb down to the ground and run off somewhere. If that tree is out in the wide open the seeds may hang on for a while so worth checking back. Squirrels don't seem to like to cross large open spaces. If so I think the husks eventually crack dropping the seed.

9-25-2023:

First time today when checking for ripe buckeyes weekly, I shook the tree and heard conkers hitting the ground. :-)

Squirrels must have enough to eat with all the black walnuts I see them running around with. I'm sure they've been planting those all over town.

So, if I don't get any riper buckeyes than these in the coming weeks, I'll plant these in the ground as they would be the most likely to succeed. In the fridge they go for now.

None were splitting yet but they looked a lot darker in color than previous ones collected.

I've prepared some pots that I'll plant all that were collected earlier and set them out for stratification JIC. That could be a few weeks yet.

Mr. Squirrel left me an unhusked black walnut out in my yard, I'll stratify that one for my son's place.

There seem to be a plethora of seed available on many species of Aesculus around Kentucky and at the Valley. I have:

• Aesculus parviflora (many)
• Aesculus parviflora var. serotina (many)
• Aesculus flava (many)
• Aesculus glabra (many)
• Aesculus pavia (far fewer this year)

Seed from all these species (and possibly others) are likely available around Louisville and Lexington sites.

Down in the valley, valley so low
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow
Hear the wind blow dear, hear the wind blow
Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.

My favorite song as a child. :-)

Squirrels cleaned all the nuts off my tree this week. They go CRAZY over them. And make a heck of a mess

I was surprised to see so many left on this tree.

I'll try

again in a week but at least I got some ripe enough to fall when I shook the tree.

Aesculus flava in Seneca Park, Louisville KY shedding buckeyes as I type...

Yeah, I don't think any of those species would even grow up here, VV.

Unless I missed something, A. glabra is the only one zoned z3.

So, I'll have to stick with that one.

Besides, it's one of the smaller species with mature height of 20-40 ft. And with my short seasons, cold winters, poor soil and droughty conditions, if it ever makes 20', that would be quite an accomplishment. Probably never in my lifetime.

I don't mind the mess because I set my mower for mulch and everything that gets chopped up fall down into the grass and feeds the lawn.

It sure would be nice to get something that flowers in the front yard, especially being my Cornus alternifolia, planted earlier, decided to succumb to golden canker.

But nbd. I have everything I need and I'm having fun so I'll be fine until I'm not. ;-)

Thanks for the pictures.

Bill, in addition to Ohio buckeye, the hybrids Autumn Splendor, Homestead, and Prairie Torch should all be hardy at your location. Yellow Buckeye would probably survive also.

Yeah, depending on the source, some say z3 others z4. And that probably isn't the real issue, at least not most years.

It's the one winter in every 5-7 years here that'll give you a good indication of whether your trees are winter hardy enough.

This list helps me greatly: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/cold-hardiness-list

The tree I'm getting seed, could just be one of those varieties mentioned above. I have no way of knowing this.

What I do know that the tree I'm scavenging from has been growing here, with open exposure, for several/many years, so it should be okay in our winters.

Then there's Prairie torch, 5-gal $119.99 + shipping, my tree from seed, $0 + free entertainment + free exercise on the e-bike. lol

And I generally enjoy doing this sort of thing. ;-)

Thanks again!

That's interesting L.C.

It's encouraging to know about Aesculus glabra being so winter hardy in your area.

I believe there is a difference between what will endure zone 3-4 and what will endure those unpredictable early and late freezes, that occur infrequently.

The blooms are generally the most affected.

Here, Ash, Fraxinus, are the latest species to put forth leaves in the spring. And it's true, if it gets even close to freezing after leafing out, the leaves will all drop overnight. They do usually come back again with new leaves in a couple weeks though.

I don't have much experience with cottonwoods.

Yellow buckeyes in the southwest VA forests were one of the first trees to leaf out in spring, and weren't damaged by spring freezes.

Thanks beng.

Not sure what you meant when you say 'weren't damaged by spring freezes' did you mean the blooms were okay also?

That's a big stickler up hear, even for Apples. They survive the winter just fine, then shortly after it warms up enough for them to bloom, BAM, it freezes hard enough so zero fruit for the season.

That's not as important with ornamental trees but still a bummer when you're looking forward to blooms and then nothing.

I'd see new leaves on yellow buckeyes well before the typical last frost and as frosts occurred see no damage and later bloomed normally.

That's good to know.

I'm still struggling with whether or not I should plant this particular tree. But then I'll have time to think about it even after it's in the ground and growing.

The final determination is whether or not any of these nuts germinate in the first place.

Either way I'll have a nice planting spot for something next spring.

;-)

10-1-2023:

Checked out the A. glabra tree today. There was conkers on the ground, husks broken open and scattered around. I first thought maybe the squirrels had beat me to them and possibly they had to some extent.

The tree looked almost bare, but I lightly shook the trunk and the conkers just rained down. I was glad I had a helmet on. Some of the conkers husks were splittling open right on the tree and when they hit the ground, they broke open and scattered the buckeyes in the area.

So, these nuts should be completely ripe and ready to plant in the ground.

I planted 4 nuts, one in the middle of my mound and the other 3 in a circle around that one, a few inches out from the center. Watered them down good and placed a squirrel deterrent over them.

They should be able to meet the cold stratification requirements of 120 days.

See you in the spring! :-)

10-7-2023:

And just for 'Backup', and to check the germination rate of the seeds I collected over weeks, I planted several of the later picked buckeyes in a couple of pots and put them in a tote outside to stratify them, until next spring (these seeds were covered with an inch of moist peat moss on top of the peat based potting media).

All put into a tote with a couple other test articles of green plants.

Set out by the house and covered with several bags of wood mulch.

Not as well insulated as my old in the ground cold frame.

The seeds for stratification will be fine, the test will be to see if the couple of green, growing plants survive. I suppose it will make a difference if we get early snow and how low the temps go until spring.

:-)

10-11-2023: just for the record.

Went past the tree I collected nuts from yesterday and the tree was completely devoid of conkers. Nothing on the tree nor the ground. Didn't see any husks or anything except some leaves. It appears that Mr. squirrels were hard at work last week.

4-19-2024:

With the warmer than normal winter/spring and the fact that back in March I had to steal a bag of mulch that was covering my tote 'cold frame', I moved everything from the tote over to the outside plant table about 3 weeks ago. Nice sunny days with no freezing temps at nights the whole time.

Now with 3 nights in a row of 27df forecast, I moved all the pots into the house last night.

The little first year lilac (syringa vulgaris, left) from last fall, did defoliate in the cold frame but then sprouted new little leaf buds by the time I removed it from the tote early April. Hardy!

Next left to right, Picea glauca seedling, I grew on the bench all last summer, is a little off color but has buds that have been swelling now that its outside with warmer temps.

The 3rd pot is an Aesculus glabra seed in bark mix (511) that so far has not shown a sprout.

The Fourth pot next to it is a Black walnut seed found in the yard last year (511) no sprout yet.

Last (right) is the pot I planted (peat moss) the extra randomly collected buckeye seeds that were collected during the last 2-3 of weeks before the squirrels put an end to the harvest by removing all signs that seeds were ever there. ;-) <continued below>

There were 9 seeds total. So, let's see, 9 divided by 9 = 1 x 100 = 100% ;^)

I don't know if these results are enough to dispel the myth that aesculus germination rates are on the low side but does give you an idea of what proper (long) cold stratification can accomplish.

Just wanted to provide an update on what happened to all this in the tote since last season.