Aesculus pavia

Red Buckeye · Firecracker Plant · Red Horse-chestnut

Family SapindaceaeGenus Aesculus

Upright red flower panicles above glossy palmate leaves — **Flower**Eric HuntCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

The plant

Habit: shrub or treePlants of the World Online
Habit: Perennial, Shrub, TreePLANTS Database
Height: 15-25 ft4.6-7.6 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Spread: 10-20 ft3-6.1 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Flower: Orange, Red/BurgundyExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Blooms: SpringExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Native range: Native to the lower 48 statesPLANTS Database
Hardiness zones: 4-8Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Growing conditions

Sun: Partial ShadeExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil: High Organic MatterExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH: Neutral (6.0-8.0)Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Moisture: Good Drainage, Moist, Occasionally WetExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Watering: Drought tolerance: LowPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — NC State Extension.

Worth knowing

Indigenous people crushed the poisonous seeds and young shoots into pools to stun fish, which floated up and were easily caught. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Aesculus pavia
Pioneers used the gummy roots as soap and the wood for a black dye. Pavia honors Peter Paaw, a 16th-century Dutch botanist. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Aesculus pavia

Protocol

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Cold moist stratification
Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C
Sow and cover
Temperature: 70°F 21°C

about 3 months from start to sowing. Then 7 days to germinate.

Germinates in 1–7 days.

Deno's percentage is printed "109%" and cannot be read. The three months at 40 can be moist or dry: the seeds are large enough to carry their own moisture.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials