Aesculus californica

California buckeye
Moderate-size, dome-shaped deciduous native tree leafs out in earliest spring, with a show of cream-pink flowers late spring to early summer. It loses its leaves in summer if not irrigated.
height 12–35ft
width 10–35ft
tolerates Coast, Cold, Cool Summers, Drought, Deer , Fog, Gophers, Heat, Moist Soil, Neglect
water
needs		 Low – Moderate
water
info		 California buckeye is a thoroughly drought-tolerant plant where average annual rainfall reaches 14 inches or more. If not irrigated or planted in a naturally moist location like a stream bank, it naturally drops its leaves from mid to late summer. Plant in fall or winter, soak thoroughly and give it biweekly waterings through the first year by allowing a slow trickle of water to percolate into the soil around the plant. Thereafter give it monthly soakings to keep foliage green till fall, or wean it off water after the second year for a natural show of golden summer foliage as it goes dormant.

Irrigated trees will grow faster than those surviving on natural rainfall.
hardy
to		 5F
exposure Part Sun – Full Sun
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Cactus Mix, In Pots: Potting Soil, Tolerates Heavy Soil, Tolerates Sandy Soil
fertilizing Low Needs
origin California
california
native		 Yes
sunset
zones		 4–9, 14–24

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

Growing Notes

Aged trees become domes of equal width and height with gnarled trunks and silver stems. Useful as a street tree but prune and shape early to encourage a strong central stem branching as high as possible for truck clearance. Large fruits require regular clean-up over several weeks in fall.
Trees in habitat next to streams and in summer-moist situations hold their leaves well into fall. Mimic these conditions in the garden to get yours to stay green. Older trees in natural areas readily accumulate picturesque mosses and lichens and, in wetter or foggier areas, ferns.

Special Interest

One of San Francisco’s two main native trees (along with coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia). Occurs in the Santa Monica Mountains and in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Few plants express the seasonality of California’s summer-dry climate better than California buckeye. As its showy bloom concludes in early summer, leaves begin to turn gold and drop, leaving the tree starkly leafless by the end of summer. We’ve seen glowing color on a July hike provided by a golden buckeye canopy accented with reds and yellows of poison oak understory.

Silver bark dazzles in winter light. Large buckeyes, the tree’s smooth, chestnut-colored seeds, dangle on branch ends and are easy to sprout to make new trees to share with neighbors and friends, or to guerilla-plant in empty urban nooks.