Scientific Name
Aesculus x carnea
This tree is a hybrid between the European horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and the American red buckeye (Aesculus pavia). This is a modest-sized tree, growing to about 30 or so feet tall, and is best known for its attractive upright red flowers that appear in mid-spring. In common with all Aesculus species, the leaves are palmate compound, with usually five leaflets arising from the leaf base.
For use in our area, this is an improvement on the pure European horsechestnut, which is too large for many urban sites and has a strong tendency to develop leaf scorch by the end of the summer because our climate is so much warmer and sunnier than its native European habitat. Horsechestnut, so common in European city landscaping, was sometimes planted in Colorado in the early 20th century, but many of those trees performed poorly and several kinds of related buckeyes replaced them. This tree has inherited the red flower clusters and its smaller stature from its American parent but still does best when grown with some shade in the hottest part of the year. In the fall, like the others of its genus, it may sparingly produce 1½ inch wide fruits with a leathery husk and one to three shiny nuts inside. In the fall, the leaves don’t color well but may occasionally turn a pleasant yellow-gold color.