Showy horse chestnut is a tree worth seeking out

Have you ever heard of a horse chestnut tree?

About 10 years ago, I was looking through a catalog from Forest Farm, a company that specializes in unusual trees and shrubs, and came across the horse chestnut tree.

Being a person who likes unusual plants and loves to collect, I became intrigued by the description: “delights the eye with its large, exhilarating ruby-red candles and its opulent branches sweeping along the ground.” I had to have a Briotii horse chestnut even though I did not know much about them at the time.

It arrived and was quite small, probably about 15 inches in height. I had read that it liked full sun, but I also knew we were on the tail end of the climate zone where it might grow. For that reason I decided to give it some afternoon shade, hoping the relief from the afternoon sun would help with its survival.

It sat for several years, only growing a few inches each growing season. I was patient and just kept feeding it and encouraging it to grow. Well, now it is getting to have some size, and it is becoming a beautiful tree. The blooms are called candles because they stand up at the end of the branches and light up the tree. They decorate the tree like candles used to decorate Christmas trees.

The horse chestnut is native to the Balkans and in the mid-seventh century was taken to Europe, where it became popular. The horse chestnut grows to 50 feet or taller over time and usually has white flowers with reddish spots. The flowers are quite large, growing from 7 to 12 inches in length.

The leaves are a fan shape, with five leaflets comprising each leaf. They emerge a light green and turn darker as they mature. Over the years, the red variety was developed by crossing different horse chestnuts.

The red-flowering horse chestnuts, Aesculus x carnea, is a hybrid and is superior to the two parents, said Michael Dirr, a noted horticulturist from Georgia. I now have two varieties, Briotii (my first) and Fort McNair, which was found growing at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., and selected to propagate because the leaves did not scorch. Both of mine are similar in shape and appearance. Briotii has a deeper reddish-pink flower than the Fort McNair. These trees are smaller than the original horse chestnut, growing to about 40 feet in height. They are magnificent trees, and I plan on doing all I can to make them happy.

The most noted specimen of the horse chestnut was made famous by Ann Frank when she wrote in her diary about this tree. She could see the tree from the attic where she hid for two years during World War II. She comments about the tree three times in her writings. Some years ago, it was to be cut down because the Amsterdam officials were concerned about the health of the tree and the safety of the citizens. A group of people organized to get an injunction and save the tree. However, in 2010 it blew down during a heavy windstorm.

I am pleased to have beautiful horse chestnut trees growing and lighting up the far end of my garden. As you can see, it is a lovely tree and spectacular when in flower.

Reach Betty Montgomery, a master gardener, at 585-9213 or bmontgomery40@gmail.com.