How to Care for a Horse Chestnut Tree

A budding horse chestnut tree

Horse chestnut trees, known botanically as Aesculus hippocastanum, are fast-growing, deciduous, ornamental shade trees that make stately additions to spacious home landscapes. Native to Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, horse chestnut trees can be grown successfully in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 8. Introduced to the United States in the 1700s, horse chestnut trees have become one of the most common landscaping trees in the country's Northeast and Midwestern regions.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Spade
• Garden hose
• Natural mulch
• Balanced, water-soluble fertilizer
• Pruning shears or loppers

Instructions

1. Water the horse chestnut tree as often as necessary to maintain evenly moist soil. Provide as much irrigation as needed to moisten the soil all the way down to the tree's roots. Note that horse chestnut trees perform best when provided with frequent supplemental irrigation.

2. Cover the surface of the soil around your horse chestnut tree with natural mulch to help your tree conserve moisture and maintain consistently moist soil. Spread 4 inches of pine straw, peat moss, ground bark pieces or wood chips in a 3- to 5-foot diameter around the tree. For best results, maintain the layer of mulch year-round.

3. Fertilize the horse chestnut tree with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer each year in the very early spring. Follow the application instructions on the fertilizer product and water well after fertilizing to avoid damaging the roots of your horse chestnut tree.

4. Prune your horse chestnut tree annually in the late winter to remove any diseased, damaged, dead, crossed or rubbing branches. Cut cleanly through the branches, positioning your pruning tools just outside of the branch bark ridge.

5. Monitor the horse chestnut tree for the presence of harmful insects such as white-marked tussock moths and Japanese beetles; these and other pests can cause devastating damage to your tree if not controlled. Consult your county agricultural extension office for prevention and treatment advice specific to your location.

Tips & Warnings

• Horse chestnut trees can also be propagated by seed. For best results, plant horse chestnut nuts as soon as they ripen.

• Use only sharpened or sterilized pruning tools when pruning your horse chestnut tree to reduce the risk of spreading plant diseases.

References

• "The Gardener's Guide to Planting and Growing Trees"; Mike Buffi; 2007
• US Forest Service: Aesculus hippocastanum
• University of Connecticut: Aesculus hippocastanum
• Floridata: Aesculus hippocastanum
• University of Delaware: Aesculus hippocastanum

Resources

• Virginia Tech: Horsechestnut
• Vanderbilt University: Aesculus hippocastanum
• University of Maine: Branch Diagram