Red Buckeye

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Full to part sun, medium to moderately moist moisture, tolerates clay and loam soils, pH 5.5–7.5.

10–20 feet tall by 10–15 feet wide; showy red tubular flowers in 4–8-inch upright panicles in April–May; fruit is a smooth, leathery capsule 2–3 cm diameter containing 1–3 glossy dark brown seeds (buckeyes), ripening September–October. Growth rate slow to medium.

Native region: Middle and West Tennessee; most abundant on moist, well-drained slopes and ravine edges in the Highland Rim and Central Basin.

Aesculus pavia is the most heat-tolerant buckeye native to Tennessee and one of the best small flowering trees for Middle Tennessee woodland garden settings. The red tubular flowers are timed precisely for ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) spring migration — a notable ecological relationship. All parts of the plant, including the seeds, are toxic to humans and livestock due to aesculin glycosides; buckeyes should not be planted near livestock pastures or where children may collect the attractive seeds. Early summer dormancy is normal — foliage often drops by August in drought years — so site where seasonal bare trunks are not a landscape liability. No serious insect pests in Tennessee; Cercospora leaf blotch occasionally disfigures foliage in wet summers.