Aesculus glabra var. nana
Dwarf Ohio Buckeye
- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- USDA Zones 5–9
- Sun
- Full Sun, Part Shade
- Soil
- Well-drained
- Mature size
- Height 4–6 Feet · Spread 4–6 Feet
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Seasonality
- Deciduous
This variety is no actively in production in our propagation house and may not return to our catalogue. We maintain this page purely for reference and archival purposes. If you would like to grow this plant, tell us. Your interest helps guide what we bring back.
For a larger installation or commercial project, write hello@woodlanders.net.
A rare dwarf form of the Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra var. nana was found in just a few places in the hills of northern Alabama and northern Georgia, far south of the species' usual range. Where the typical Ohio buckeye climbs to thirty feet or more, this dwarf settles into a rounded shrub of about six feet, carrying the same handsome palmate leaves divided into finger-like leaflets that flush early and color in fall.
Upright clusters of greenish yellow flowers open in spring, an early offering for bees, and give way to the large, glossy brown seeds, the buckeyes, each cradled in a prickled husk. The buckeye is the stuff of folklore, carried in a pocket against rheumatism and for luck, and Native peoples once ground and leached the toxic seeds for use as a starch and as a fish stupefacient. Handsome as the buckeyes are, the seeds and young growth are poisonous, so site the shrub with that in mind.
A choice native for the small garden, where a full-sized buckeye would never fit: a woodland edge, a native border, or a specimen in sun to part shade and well-drained soil. The early flowers and bold leaves suit a naturalistic planting among other natives, and the autumn buckeyes are a quiet pleasure for those who grew up gathering them. Give room to round out, and keep the poisonous seeds away from children and livestock.
Greenish-yellow flowers in upright clusters in spring