Aesculus Hippocastanum

The Native Horse Chestnut tree, Aesculus hippocastanum, is large and spreading, suitable only for parks and big gardens. It will grow in any reasonably fertile soil and it is quite shade tolerant.
Common Horse Chestnut trees can reach a height of about 30-35 metres and spread up to 25 metres across.

Browse our variety of large trees for your garden or view our full range of trees for sale.

How Standard Trees are Measured:
All the plants in the ornamental trees section are graded as standards, which means that they are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level (basically, their trunk's waist measurement). They aren't measured by their height, which will vary. So, a 6/8 standard has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8 centimetres and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10 centimetres around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
Standard trees are 2 - 3.5 metres tall (on average) when they arrive; they are the most mature trees that you can buy from us. We cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

General description of Horse Chestnut trees:
Everyone who ever collected a conker knows this large, spreading tree, with its lovely big spires of pink-eyed, white flowers that cover the tree in early summer. It has big, lobed leaves that remind me of a splayed gecko's foot. The leaves are deep green, turning a dirty, rustic amber colour in Autumn.
Despite being called Horse Chestnuts, the shiny, smooth seed that pops out of the spiky green husks are poisonous to most large animals. These trees common in parks, but they are only suitable for very big gardens.

History & uses of Aesculus hippocastanum:
Like a number of trees that we consider to be native to Britain, Horse Chestnuts are in fact relatively new introductions. Their native range is across most of Southern Europe and east to Turkey. Despite being common in these warm areas, they are hardy enough to grow happily in most parts of Britain. The Viennese began growing this tree in the 1570's and they probably arrived here in the early 1600's, spreading into the wild very successfully. They are relatively short-lived for such a large tree, lasting for only 150-200 years.

Notes on planting Common Horse Chestnut trees:
Horse Chestnuts are big trees with powerful roots; we recommend planting them at least 30 metres away from buildings. They will grow in any soil, including chalk, and young trees tolerate shade well. They are very hardy and mature trees are tough as anything, tolerating soggy winters followed by scorching summers without any set-back.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the site where you plant a tree several months in advance. Kill the weeds first: for tough weeds like nettles, brambles and ground elder, you will usually need a glyphosate-based weed-killer to get rid of them. When you dig the soil over, remove stones and other rubbish and mix in well-rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.

Watch our video on how to plant a tree for full instructions.
Remember to water establishing trees during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Tree Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a tree planting pack with a wooden stake & rubber tie to support the tree and a mulch mat with pegs to protect the soil around the base of your tree from weeds and drying out.
We suggest that you use mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all newly planted large trees: if your soil quality is poor, we strongly recommend it.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £6.50 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Misc	Wildlife Value
Shade	Partial Shade
Area	Exposed Windy Areas
Soil	Acidic, Alkaline/Chalky
Type	Screening

	NUMBER OF PLANTS
SIZES	1-2	3-9	10+
6/8 std Bareroot	Plenty of Stock£25.95	Plenty of Stock£21.95	Plenty of Stock£19.95
8/10 std Bareroot	Plenty of Stock£41.95	Plenty of Stock£35.95	Plenty of Stock£30.95

Horse Chestnut Trees

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Aesculus Hippocastanum