Aesculus turbinata flowers A delightful shrubby species

A delightful shrubby species

Once a very common sight in our English hedgerows

spike-like clusters followed by decorative flat seed pods

and increasingly as a shrub or tree in schemes which call for native planting

Aesculus turbinata flowers A delightful shrubby speciesNative to Japan, this chestnut is very similar in appearance to our common horse chestnut but exhibits much slower growth, flowering a few weeks later and bears pear like, spineless fruits. Enjoying full sun it serves as a great food source for wildlife. It also tolerates exposures, but does not cope well with dry soils. Fruit is poisionous. RHS hardiness rating: H7