Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit:	Shrub
Life cycle:	Perennial
Sun Requirements:	Full Sun Full Sun to Partial Shade Partial or Dappled Shade Partial Shade to Full Shade
Water Preferences:	Wet Mesic Mesic Dry Mesic
Soil pH Preferences:	Moderately acid (5.6 – 6.0) Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5) Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness:	Zone 4a -34.4 °C (-30 °F) to -31.7 °C (-25 °F)
Maximum recommended zone:	Zone 8b
Plant Height:	8-12 feet
Plant Spread:	8-15 feet
Leaves:	Good fall color Deciduous Other: Foliage turns yellow in autumn.
Fruit:	Showy
Fruiting Time:	Late summer or early fall
Flowers:	Showy Blooms on old wood
Flower Color:	Other: White with red anthers and pinkish filaments
Flower Time:	Summer
Uses:	Erosion control Water gardens Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant:	Bees Butterflies Hummingbirds
Resistances:	Deer Resistant
Toxicity:	Leaves are poisonous Other: Seeds and foliage of Aesculus species are poisonous to humans if eaten. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size.
Propagation: Seeds:	Seeds are hydrophilic
Pollinators:	Bees
Miscellaneous:	Monoecious
Awards and Recognitions:	RHS AGM

Common names

Bottlebrush Buckeye

Photo Gallery

Location: Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC
Date: 08/04/2010
photo by Wendy Cutler via Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/w

Uploaded by scvirginia

Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Date: 2012-04-17
Aesculus parviflora - Young leaves. Check out the red twigs and

Uploaded by arctangent

Location: Elizabeth Lawrence Garden at Wing Haven, Charlotte, NC
Date: 2022-06-23

Uploaded by LoriMT

Uploaded by LoriMT

Photo courtesy of Camellia Forest Nursery

Uploaded by Calif_Sue

Uploaded by SL_gardener

Uploaded by SL_gardener

Uploaded by LoriMT

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: an Oklahoma City garden
Date: 2024-03-22
Early spring growth on Bottlebrush Buckeye

Uploaded by jathton

Location: on my patio
Date: 06-13-2020
Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

Uploaded by jathton

Location: my front yard just north of Atlanta GA. Full sun, southwestern exposure, just a smidge of shade from a sweetgum nearby
Date: 2013-05-31
This is what bottlebrush flowers look like before they're actuall

Uploaded by fiwit

Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor, MI
Date: 2014-07-06
Back Gardens

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Uploaded by jathton

Location: my front yard just north of Atlanta GA. Full sun, southwestern exposure, just a smidge of shade from a sweetgum nearby
Date: 2013-05-31
Got th is as a 1-gallon plant in fall 2010.

Uploaded by fiwit

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Location: Botanical Gardens of the State of Georgia...Athens, Ga
Date: 2019-06-02
Aesculus parviflora - Bottlebrush Buckeye 002 text

Uploaded by dawiz1753

Location: Botanical Garden of the Technical University Delft
Date: 2019-04-15

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: Clinton, Michigan 49236
Date: 2017-10-28
Aesculus parviflora, 2017, [Bottlebrush Buckeye], ESS-kew-luss pa

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Location: Botanical Garden Berlin
Date: 2017-10-20

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois
Date: winter in 1980's
shrub in winter

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: My garden in N E Pa.
Date: 2009-02-05

Uploaded by treehugger

Location: English Gardens, West Bloomfield, MI
Date: 2012-09-11

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Location: English Gardens, West Bloomfield, MI
Date: 2013-08-01

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Uploaded by jathton

Uploaded by jathton

Uploaded by jathton

Uploaded by scvirginia

Location: My garden in Ontario, Canada
Date: 2022-08-02
Flower of A. p. var. serotina - starts blooming 3 weeks after the

Uploaded by Vals_Garden

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Location: Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton, Illinois
Date: July in 1980's
shrubs in bloom

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Tyler Arboretum in southeast PA near Media
Date: 2011-08-24
the capsules (husks) over the buckeye seeds

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2014-10-26
shrub in autumn color, not quite fully

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2012-10-21
autumn foliage

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Den Botaniek - Antwerpen - Belgium
Date: 2016-04-21

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Location: English Gardens, West Bloomfield, MI
Date: 2012-05-10

Uploaded by DaylilySLP

Uploaded by jathton

Location: Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Date: July
credit: Magnus Manske

Uploaded by robertduval14

Location: Middle Tennessee
Date: 2014-05-14

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Uploaded by SL_gardener

Location: Just off my front porch
Date: 2021-04-01
Aesculus parviflora [Bottlebrush Buckeye] composite

Uploaded by jathton

Location: Missouri Botanical Garden (Mobot) in St Louis
Date: 2016-06-18

Uploaded by jmorth

Uploaded by jmorth

Location: Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois
Date: summer in 1980's
shrubs at building corner

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois
Date: summer in 1980's
shrub in summer

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton, Illinois
Date: July in 1980's
close-up of flower spike

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Tyler Arboretum in southeast PA near Media
Date: 2010-06-23
shrubs in bloom

Uploaded by ILPARW

Location: Jenkins Arboretum in Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Date: 2012-10-21
shrub in autumn color

Uploaded by ILPARW

Uploaded by jathton

Uploaded by robertduval14

Location: in my front yard north of Atlanta GA. partial shade location.
Date: 2013-04-09
spring buds

Uploaded by fiwit

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Location: Lucketts, Loudoun County, Virginia
Date: 2015-07-25

Uploaded by greenthumb99

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Uploaded by frankrichards16

Location: Tennessee
photo courtesy of Sunlight Gardens, www.sunlightgardens.com

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Location: Botanical Garden Copenhagen
Date: 2016-11-19

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by SL_gardener

Location: Tennessee
Date: 2013-07-03
Mostly sunny location with some morning shade

Uploaded by SongofJoy

Uploaded by jmorth

Uploaded by jmorth

Uploaded by jmorth

Uploaded by jmorth

This plant is tagged in:

Comments:

Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Jan 13, 2018 12:37 PM concerning plant:

The Bottlebrush Buckeye was found in the 1800's to have a small native range in about half of Alabama with edges into Georgia and northwest Florida, growing in wet mesic to dry mesic lowlands or uplands in or around woods. Its large palmate leaves have 5 to 7 leaflets that turn a good yellow to yellow-orange autumn color. The large, erect, candle-like, white flower spikes are about 6 to 12 inches long and have a slightly perfumed scent. It has handsome stout smooth gray to gray brown twigs and branches that are like the Pagoda Dogwood in an arrangement of a wishbone and roller coaster pattern, looking good in winter. It is slow growing of about 1 foot/year. It has a fibrous but deep descending root system, so it is difficult to transplant. It is an expensive plant that is not well-known by the general public so I infrequently see it at arboretums, estates, parks, and professional landscapes, and furthermore, it needs lots of room to fully spread out which is 12 to 20 feet. It is sold at larger, diverse nurseries and native plant nurseries. It is an excellent, high quality, clean, neat shrub.

1 reply
Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on May 8, 2012 6:03 PM concerning plant:

Honey bees get nectar and pollen from this plant.

Reply to this comment
Posted by SongofJoy (Clarksville, TN - Zone 6b) on Jan 14, 2012 9:54 AM concerning plant:

Bottlebrush Buckeye is a large suckering shrub native to moist woodlands of the southeastern coastal plain. In cultivation, given average to moist soil and full sun to part shade, Bottlebrush Buckeye forms a handsome dense suckering shrub colony approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. The flower display is outstanding and fall color is often a good yellow. Give this shrub plenty of room as a specimen planting or locate it at a moist wood's edge. When grown in more shade, it will tend to be open and wispy with much less flowering (but still attractive). (Sunlight Gardens)

Reply to this comment
Posted by sallyg (central Maryland - Zone 7b) on Dec 12, 2018 12:21 AM concerning plant:

Bottlebrush buckeye grows well in my zone 7 garden in sandy loam soil. It is a large-scale specimen, needing to spread its branches to show off the big compound leaves and long bloom spikes. It has made several low branches that can be rooted by weighting with a brick. As for the 'showy' fruit, the developing nuts are novel, rather than 'pretty,' the ripe nuts, while not edible for humans, are pretty.

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Aesculus Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

Aesculus
Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)