How to Plant Horse Chestnut
Horse chestnut trees, botanically known as Aesculus hippocastanum, are large, deciduous trees that also go by the name conker tree. Native to to Southeastern Europe, the horse chestnut is widely grown as an ornamental tree in temperate regions around the globe. At maturity, it can reach more than 100 feet in height, with nearly a 50 foot spread. It flowers prodigiously in late spring with white blooms bearing a tiny red spot in a panicle formation, from which the fruit or "chestnuts" develop. The trees are hardy in zones 3 through 8, but happiest in cooler climates where peaking summer temperatures are not higher than 90 degrees F. The trees thrive in full sun and consistently-moist soil. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Prepare the planting site by digging a hole at least twice the diameter of the root ball, and at least 5 inches deeper than the root ball. Loosen up the soil at the base of the hole without removing any more of it.
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Unwrap the tree root ball, or remove from its nursery container. Loosen the tree's roots and place it into the prepared hole. Add soil as needed under the root ball to ensure that the very top of the root ball is level with the new surrounding soil.
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Adjust the tree's position so that its trunk is straight.
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Back fill about half of the removed soil to secure the tree in position and water in well, allowing the water to percolate into the soil and root ball fully before filling in the rest of the soil around the root ball. Tamp down soil all the way around the root ball with the heel of your foot to ensure good soil contact with the roots and to collapse any air pockets.
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Water again on the surface around the tree and maintain a consistently moist soil 1 inch below the surface.
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Fertilize with a high quality, general purpose, water-soluble organic fertilizer in the spring and summer. Fertilize all around the tree's drip line to at least 1 foot out from the trunk.
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References
- Photo Credit USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 498.
