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Aesculus (californica)

Betty Young
Nurseries Sr Manager
Bldg 201, Fort Mason
San Francisco, California 94123
415-331-6917
415-331-7521 (fax)
byoung@ggnpa.org

Family Scientific Name: Hippocastanaceae
Family Common Name: Buckeye Family
Scientific Name: Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt.
Common Synonym: Calothyrsus californica
Common Name: California Buckeye
Species Code: AESCAL
Ecotype: Marin County, California
General Distribution: A. californica is found in dry slopes and canyons below 4000 ft (1200 meters, in the Coast ranges and sirrea Nevada from Siskiyou and Shasta counties south to Los Angeles and Kern counties, California.
Propagation Goal: plants
Propagation Method: seed
ProductType: Container (plug)
Time To Grow: 0
Target Specifications: Height: N/A<br> Caliper: N/A<br> Root System: Firm plug in container.
Propagule Collection: Seeds are collected between September 1st and December 1st.
Seeds are brown round nuts and are collected from the trees or from fallen fruits on the ground.
Propagule Processing: Seed Cleaning: Husks are removed from seeds.
Seed Storage: Seeds are refrigerated and kept moist to prevent dessication.
Pre-Planting Treatments: Seeds are soaked in water for 24 hours. place in a 5% bleach solution for 1 minute. Rinse well. Place seeds in sterile perlite in a plastic freezer bag. Keep in refrigerator for 6 to 8 weeks. Check seeds after 6 weeks. Sow each seed as radicle emerges.
Growing Area Preparation/
Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:
Fully Controlled Greenhouse.
Sowing Method: Direct Sowing Germinants.
Seeds are sown in containers filled with standard potting mix of peat moss, fir bark, perlite, and sand.
Seeds are surface sown 1 time the diameter of seed to depth at the rate of 1 seed per container.
Flats are watered in with an automatic irrigation system.
% Germination:95%
Establishment Phase: Seeds germinate 21 days after sowing.
Transplant Survival averages 90%.
Other Comments: Sowing time is determined by collection time, as Aesculus seeds cannot be dry stored. They must be kept moist and placed into stratification as soon as possible.
This species is often better sown directly in the field. Place 3 to 5 seeds in planting spot after they are collected. Thin in the spring when they germinate.
References: A California Flora and Supplement, Munz, P., University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1973.

Citation:

Young, Betty. 2001. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt. plants San Francisco, California. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/03/28). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.