Scientific name: Aesculus hippocastanum
Family: SAPINDACEAE
Common names: “Horse chestnut”
Plant Type: Deciduous tree
Conditions:
Zone: 3-8
Light: Full sun best – part shade
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Deep fertile
Moisture: Moist well drained
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 50-80′, even 120′ W 40-70′
Leaf and Stem shape: Muscular rounded tree with large palmate leaves
Flower: Creamy white flowers in upright conical panicles from April – May, followed by brown nuts in spiny fruit in Autumn
Pruning: Minimal, DDD’s
Maintenance: Low or high depending on location, in city roadside plantings they are very high maintenance
Landscape use: Roadside plantings, deciduous forest, too large for most gardens
Propagate: By seed and cuttings
Pests & Disease: Can get leaf scorch
Comments: Sticky brown opposite buds in winter make it easy to ID, not the edible chestnut, deep shade and shallow vigorous roots make it difficult to garden underneath
