Shade Gardening: planting under maple trees, 1 by ViburnumValley

ViburnumValley wrote:
Aesculus parviflora, the bottlebrush buckeye, is an incredibly rewarding summer flowering shrub for zones 4-8. I, of course, am spoiled down here in KY whilst you shiver up there in WI, BUT...I have Wisconsin roots so I don't feel too bad. Synergy, shout a hello out to my "92 years young" Aunt Vi who lives over on Nicholas Street, not far from the park.

Back to plants. Bottlebrush buckeye is recommended for tolerating shade, and it does. One shouldn't be afraid to use it in full sun though, because that is where it shines. As tobee43 mentions, it can become a rather large shrub if you never touch it, but you can manage the plant at a variety of heights by simply removing the tallest stems occasionally (though that will be painful after you've gotten used to its stellar look and performance), as it will send up more stems with no encouragement. It will want to stretch, depending on depth of shade, whereas it will be a much more dense compact (and more floriferous) shrub in fuller sun.

tobee43 also says the "white" variety is best for shade. If you know of any other color of bottlebrush buckeye, you are in line for a lot of money. And you are right: Mike Dirr likes the plant so much he put it on the cover of his Manual's 4th Edition (the green one).

Song Sparrow Farm and Nursery sells bottlebrush buckeye, and their wholesale operation grows them in the field in southern WI, so I think they've got a good shot with most of you posting here.

OK, since you insist, here's how Aesculus parviflora does down here in hot humid central KY. These were planted in 1991, and get by pretty well now without much help.