Come autumn, children fill their pockets with the conkers that give this tree its playground fame — in Britain, a game to go with them. The horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) grows very quickly and bears beautiful flowers each spring, but it needs full sun and room: it can reach 150 feet, or 45 metres.
Horse chestnut at a glance
Name
Aesculus hippocastanum
Family
Spindaceae
Type
Tree
Height
50 to 150 feet (15 to 45 metres)
Exposure
Full sun
Soil
Rich and cool
Foliage
Deciduous
Flowering
Late spring
Planting a horse chestnut tree
Plant in mid-autumn, when conkers germinate naturally
The planting usually is performed in October when the first horse chestnuts naturally start germinating.
They grow very fast and their root development will have had a running start before winter.
You can also set horse chestnuts up to germinate in a pot over the winter and transplant them to the ground in spring. Germination is virtually guaranteed, it’s an excellent garden activity for children!
Pruning Horse chestnut tree
It doesn’t need any pruning.
Learn more about the horse chestnut tree
In Britain, these autumn fruits are called conkers
It is known to all since children often play with the fruits come fall. In Britain they call them conkers.
This tree has the advantage of growing very quickly, of bearing beautiful flowers in spring and of offering horse chestnuts in fall, except the double-flowered varieties that can’t produce any fruits.
Spring flowers come before the autumn crop of conkers
Horse chestnut trees, even though they’re not particularly remarkable, are often found in parks and in gardens!
An interesting cousin of this gigantic tree is bottlebrush: the flowers have a similar structure but are much more showy and unique: a perfect shrub to plant underneath!
Horse chestnuts, though they’re not edible, nonetheless are very useful to treat certain ailments related to venous deficiency and more.
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
