Very pretty, course our buckeyes are now seed clusters :) I favor the red buckeye, but yours here is outstanding.

I have planted several seedling Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia, over the years and they simply refuse to grow at my elevation. They linger at seedling size refusing to grow and refusing to die. It is disappointing to say the least.

Yeah, bottlebrushes in bloom are amazing.

Wow VV. Mine is maybe one quarter the size of yours.

I may have had a bit of a head start...

Those 3 Bottlebrush Buckeyes pictured are part of a contingent of 8 started as 2 gallon pots, planted in 1992 before we had city water at the Valley. These ringed the inside of our front circular drive, and were joined by an Oriental Spruce and (now deceased) Concolor Fir.

Because we only had poor well water and weak pressure, this island became home to every other wayward woody that showed up, including an Ilex decidua 'Byer's Gold', a Quercus fusiformis from Oklahoma, the 'Edith Bogue' Southern Magnolia, and the seedlings of Tetradium daniellii.

Ice storms, droughts, and a couple winters below -20F separated the pretenders from the steadfasts. I really miss the Abies concolor, but the Thuja plicata has more than made up for it.

Spouse will outlast them all...

This thread cannot go 5 days without supplemental commentary - so here goes...

Aesculus parviflora var. serotina is going full tilt now! As the species Bottlebrush Buckeye ends its flowering reign in the garden, and spent/pollinated flower spikes fade and drop petals, the Late Bottlebrush Buckeye surges to the fore with its ridiculously long (18-30") spikes.

This is a big plant; give it the space it wants and deserves. All told, it is a larger and later blooming version of the Bottlebrush Buckeye with which you may already be familiar.

Stand back, and enjoy its grandeur. These first two images are plants I contributed to infill a border of Aesculus parviflora In Louisville's Seneca Park where a few plants failed. The Aesculus parviflora var. serotina outstripped the neighboring plants, as well as demonstrating its later blooming characteristics.

Here at the Valley, I've enjoyed the extension of the season with 'Rogers' as well as unnamed seedlings and selections of this hefty exuberant Late Bottlebrush Buckeye. The flower spikes are truly out of control. The pumpkin gold/orange fall color adds flavor to the fall landscape.

I need more sun and more open land. The plants that could be planted, what fun.

Fly poison is new to me. I'm always interested in native plants that do well in shade. Thanks. Where can I get one.

Sigrid, I found the Fly Poison in the woods and brought it into the garden where it would get more sunlight. I have no idea where you might get some. Specialty native plant nurseries do exist. Someone could be growing Fly Poison.

The flower spikes persist for a very long time and it looks like they set seed. I just have not looked close enough to verify that. When plants start self-sowing, I know they like it here. Maybe I should start growing Fly Poison.

Christopher - you really have a wealth of interesting plants at your location, some of which would definitely not thrive (or survive) at my location. Based on its native range, I'm guessing Amianthium would be "iffy" here. "I have a collection of poisonous plants" - that sounds like a great topic for a separate discussion :)

VV - that's interesting that the late bottlebrush buckeye varieties grow larger than the species - I would've assumed they have the same mature size. I don't see a lot of them (the species in general) planted in my area, possibly because they're not as well known here as they are farther south.

This planting is located at the Morton Arboretum (photo from several years ago)

Arbordave, the Southern Appalachians are a biological diversity hot spot. I have been planting many natives in my garden that I have not seen on this particular property. I have the good fortune of a local native plant garden that has an annual plant sale and I work in a number of high elevation gated neighborhoods where so many of these native plants can still be found but are at risk of being landscaped out of existence. I have no qualms about rescuing plants from the edges of these properties.

@arbordave (SE MI):

Roy Klehm used to field grow all the Aesculus parviflora at Beaver Creek Nursery - on the windswept plains of southern WI/northern IL. That's where I got my first 'Rogers'.

I'm sure they'd be very happy in balmy southeast MI.

I have not researched Aesculus parviflora var. serotina extensively, to see what others' experiences may be. Perhaps I have some freak outliers here. As long as there is reasonable moisture through the summer, these plants are not shy about seed set - and they have also layered frequently.

VV - you are correct, I haven't observed any issues with hardiness here, I just don't see that many in my local area. I agree that they prefer soil that doesn't dry out too badly. We planted one last year in one of our parks, and its flower stalks have expanded but none have opened yet. (like this other post). A few Japanese beetles have begun visiting the foliage :(

Yes! On the pollinator thread, I was walking around taking pictures of insect activity and noted that Japanese Beetle season has begun here at the Valley. There were a few up in the flowers (ruining my pictures), but I suspect that as more start flying, they'll be out nibbling on everything.

You have to just out-plant them...

You have to just out-plant them...

Indeed. All of them.

Now is the time for my BBB to shine.

It is about 20 feet across but I can’t get a pic of all of it.

tj

You need a drone...

That or climb up on my garage roof…something reserved for ”only if I have to”.

tj

I've never tried this plant, but you've convinced me I need it. I've got an open space off a woodland garden about 40' across that gets 2-3 hours of sun. Cold hardiness will be the issue...