Horse Chestnut (Conker) Sapling Trees

At a Glance

• Use: Specimen tree, tall screening, parkland
• Not suitable for hedging
• Height: Up to 35m
• Growth: Medium-fast. Spreading, rounded crown
• Soil: Any well-drained soil
• Light: Full sun to part shade
• Type: Large deciduous tree
• Species: Aesculus hippocastanum
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Bareroot Delivery Only: Nov-March

Appearance, Growth & Uses

The Horse Chestnut or Conker Tree is a big, spreading, round headed parkland tree with great flowers.

It has dense, large gecko feet leaves with 5-6 lobes, and in early summer it erupts with tall, thick cones of flowers which are beautiful to look at close up, each little flower resembling a papery little orchid.
The autumn colour is rusty yellow with burnt brown edges.

The flowers mature into spiky, green seed balls that contain beautifully smooth, polished conkers.

Horse chestnut trees provide plentiful nectar for bees and are important urban trees, tolerating city pollution better than many native species.

Horse Chestnut is not suitable for a clipped hedge.

It can be grown as a screening and windbreak tree up to about 35 metres high.

• Buy large Horse Chestnut trees for instant impact.
• Browse other chestnut trees, our hedge plants & sapling trees, or our range of garden trees.

Growing Conditions

• Soil: Any well-drained soil
• Light: Full sun to partial shade
• Moisture: Moderate, well-drained
• Avoid: Exposed coastal sites, waterlogged soils
• Maintenance: Very tough, minimal once established
• Hardiness: Hardy, but suffers cosmetic damage in the coldest Northern regions

Horse Chestnuts will grow in any soil with decent drainage.

Garden Design Ideas

Horse chestnuts grow well in the city and are excellent parkland specimens where their spreading canopy and flower display can be fully appreciated.

They have dense, shaggy canopies that are effective windbreaks and provide summer shade.

Perfect for large gardens and estates where the mature size can be accommodated without crowding buildings or boundaries.

History and Trivia

Aesculus hippocastanum is native to the mountains of southeastern Europe, particularly the Balkans, where it grows in mixed deciduous forests, with scattered pockets across the Middle East as far as the Western Himalayas.

Despite feeling like a native British tree, they are relatively new introductions.
The Viennese began growing this tree in the 1570's, and they probably arrived here in the early 1600's, naturalising with great success.

Hippo-castanum means "horse-chestnut"; a hippo-potamus is a "horse of the water".
Despite the name, the beautifully shiny and smooth seed that pops out of the spiky green husks is poisonous to horses, and most large animals.

They are relatively short-lived for such a large tree, lasting for only 150-200 years in most cases, 300 at most.

Bavarian beer gardens and conker trees go together like fish and fingers.
The tradition dates back to the days when lager was brewed in caverns and dug outs to keep it cool.
Horse chestnuts cast dense shade and have shallow, spreading roots, so they are ideal for planting on top of your beer cave to keep the sun off.