Foliage Friday - Ohio Buckeye

Happy Foliage Friday! Thanks for joining me. :)

Ready for a Foliage Friday update? I hope so! Here is your friendly plant post, where I talk about a plant I love and hopefully convince you to either plant it or just be more knowledgeable about it. 

Plant: Ohio Buckeye, Aesculus glabra

Why: Surprise! Yet another tree, and yet another option for my parents to consider for their front yard if we replace their ugly silver maple. Now, honestly this tree has a few liabilities, which I'll explain in a bit, but I had to go over it anyway. First, my mom is from Ohio, where their state tree is the buckeye. Second, this tree is commonly overlooked because of its fruit liability, but it has some lovely qualities as a landscape tree! And third, I tried teaching Erin about this tree when we were in Central Park in April... I thought it would be fun to jog her memory. :)

Ohio buckeye in mature form

Landscape uses: Starting off with its form, I can only describe it as a lollipop. Do you remember drawing trees as a kid? Stick for the trunk and a green, round poof for the leaves? That is sort of what this tree looks like from afar. Classic form! It is usually 30 feet or so tall, but can get up to 80 feet.

In the spring and summer, the Ohio buckeye has a deep green leaf color, and in fall typically has orange-ish, red-ish leaves. Refreshing from the commonly seen yellow leaves!

Fall leaves of the buckeye

Springtime also brings a bright yellow/green raceme flower. I honestly believe the flower is overlooked in this tree. It's definitely unique and a great spring addition to your yard. Oh, but I will warn you - it doesn't smell the best!

Early flower of the buckeye

Overall, the buckeye can be tolerant of shade, and can survive any shade your house or buildings cast on it. But it does best in full sun. As I mentioned above, the fruit of the tree (the buckeye) are a bit of a liability. That basically means the tree produces something undesirable at some stage of its season. The buckeyes are bigger than a large marble and drop to the ground beneath it. This can create an issue when mowing or landscaping under the canopy.

Dried fruit of the buckeye

Because of the crown size of the tree, it does best in larger areas where it can thrive. Be sure the area of your yard is big enough if you consider it for around your house.

Other uses: The buckeye nuts contain tannic acid (which is poisonous to animals and humans), but this acid can be used for leatherworking by Native Americans.

Fleshy fruit of the buckeye before drying

Fun facts: Ohio State University uses the Buckeye as its schools' nickname. All parts of the buckeye, leaves, fruit, bark, flowers, are toxic when consumed. Be careful when around this tree! The dried buckeye is often carried around with a person in their pocket and rubbed for good luck.

Information and pictures from: http://www.hort.uconn.edu, http://www.cirrusimage.com



Thanks again for joining me! Now come on... let's give me a suggestion for next week! What do you want to learn about?