I would like to try this also. Dirr's "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" says the seeds should be stratified at 41 degrees for 120 days. Does this mean place in the refrigerator for 4 months before planting in potting soil? I was also unsure about whether or not to remove the husk. I thought I would just experiment, but I only have 5 nuts to work with... thanks in advance for any help!

To propagate Ohio Buckeye remove the husk. (I read in the
newspaper today that the seeds should be planted now...be
sure to protect from squirrels).

After a little research I discovered that the seeds can also be put in moist planting medium such as sphagnum
moss and sealed in platic bag, then stored in the refrigerator until spring. Pot the seeds in the spring.

I'm going to try the refrigerator method this year.

DiggerND... Are you concerned about a mold problem if you use a plastic bag? I'm going to try it too. Maybe we could just place in moist Spagnum/vermiculite mix and put in veggie drawer... without sealing? I don't know. But, this Buckeye project is important to me because of a couple of family members hoping for buckeye trees after a few seasons of nurturing successful seedlings. Thank you for any input. LeafLover

About Feb. 1 I checked on my seeds -- they had been in peat moss in a plastic bag in the fridge about 3 1/2 months. Most were sprouting. I planted all 8 in regular potting soil and put them in my south window. I now have 8 great looking seedlings. Each has several leaves and all are about 12" tall. If they keep growing at this rate, I wonder what size they'll be by the time it stops snowing and I can plant them outside? (March 16th--snowing right now!)

Should they be cut back eventually to a single leader? Nearly all the plants are divided quite low into two branches. The leaves are ~beautiful~.

Digger and LeafLover -- did you try? How are yours doing?

Hi Sue_minn... Thanks for asking. How 'bout you Digger? My frig Buckeyes are still in the frig. I think I did a good job of preparing them and I am hoping they are ready for planting now. I don't have much indoor window space so I have been stalling and closely watching the weather. I am looking forward to starting them and sharing the seedlings with my family. Maybe I am dreaming to think I will have too many. My original goal was to have just one for my sister who has settled a new home in Virginia and is wanting a Buckeye just like our Dad had in our Ohio childhood home. The Buckeyes I used are from a tree that I started as a seedling and about 14 years old. So these would be my grandchildren? Ha. I also potted some Buckeyes from a different source last Fall. They have been outside now again this Spring, but in trying to protect them this past winter from our squirels, I don't think they got enough cold weather to germinate. We'll see. Happy Spring... LeafLover.

Hey Sue_Minn... how're your trees doing now that it is June? I really waited a while before planting mine from the frig. I potted each one about two weeks ago now, and 7 of 8 are already nice looking seedlings. 2 to 4 inches tall. Now I will baby them this season and insulate them this coming winter. Then I will plant the healthy ones this coming spring. Unless someone has better advice for me. Digger? Thanks. LeafLover.

All 8 are alive but not necessarily thriving. I don't think I hardened them off slowly enough, and their leaves were nipped by frost. All leaves are still on the plants, but at least half of each leaf is brown and crunchy. They haven't gained much in height since their initial push up, but the stems are getting woodier. I found one plant on the edge of the garden that the squirrels planted for me -- it came up when it wanted to this spring and is doing better than my refrigerator babies!
It's been very fun and interesting...Sue_Minn

Almost all leaves have now dropped off almost all plants. They're in one gallon pots in dappled shade. Things aren't looking good ...

We have two buckeyes that grew from nuts, but I don't know if they are Ohio buckeyes. They are about 20 feet tall now and they bloom and produce fruit very well. Does the Ohio buckeye have special characteristics? All I know is - these guys are buckeyes. These were given to me by by a fellow gardener who was also a member of S.O.N.G. - the Society of Ontario Nut Growers.

Hi again. I am sorry to hear your news concerning your Buckeyes, Sue_Minn. I have heard Ohio Buckeyes are known to be a sickly tree. I have often seen the half brown, crunchy, leaves you mentioned. My seedlings are still potted. All are doing pretty well, with just a little bit of that leave burn. Each one is about 12 inches tall. Each has only one main trunk and about 6 to 8 leaves. It is mid-september. I am not sure if I should keep these seedlings potted through the coming Winter or plant them now. Either way I will use leaves or straw to insulate them well. Does anyone have an opinion about planting now or in the Spring? Thank you. LeafLover

In the end I lost all plants, but I love this tree so I'm going to try again....

A friend gave me some nuts one fall (maybe ten years ago). They came from the Arboretum at the Ottawa Experimental Farm. We just planted them in the garden in the middle of the lawn and marked the spot with a tomato cage. They sprouted in the spring and grew - from five nuts, two trees. We carefully moved one, left the other in situ. They are now both about eighteen feet tall, bloom each spring, very interesting flowers - something similar to chestnuts, but a bit different. We have no problems with them - the squirrels get all the nuts!

That sounds like something I'd like to try! Thanks

I have many horse chestnut trees growing by nuts, have put them into the ground in the fall....most of them germinated.
The nuts I have collected from one of the largest growing tree in downtown Edmonton.
If you need any plants.....let me know.
Konrad

My mother-in-law just brought me 2 quart size bags of buckeyes from Ohio. they have been refrigerated since she picked them up. We are in Louisiana, and I have no idea what to do with them now! The people down here talk about 'buckeye bushes', but the ones at home are trees, I'd love to grow a tree. The buckeyes I have seen around here have no "eyes". If anyone could tell me what to do, I would love the help. I am not sure how long she refrigerated them before she brought them down. I have had them about 1 week, still in the fridge, in a plastic bag, zipped up, with no peatmoss or anything else. Some one please try to help this transplanted yankee, who knows nothing about trees!!! Thanks everyone!

We have had them in the refrig and they have sproted, so
do I plant the sprout up or in the dirt? Thanks for the info. Beverly

I picked up about 100 buckeys last fall, put them in fridge in peat moss in Oct/Nov, checked them 2 weeks ago (mid February) and 80% had sprouted. Put ones that hadn't sprouted back in fridge. Put sprouted ones in pots in peat moss in my garage. Checked them 2 weeks later and the tap root on 1/2 of them had grown through the bottom of the pot so had to transplant those in bigger pots. That root sure grows fast! I think I will bring a few pots in the house where it is warmer and put in front of picture window. Plan to transplant in ground as soon as weather in Iowa gets nicer in a couple of months.

98 out of 100 seeds sprouted, have been put in pots and most are a foot high with nice leaves. Have put outside for a few days but now have a cold spell where it may freeze at night so they are back in garage. As soon as the weather is better, I will get them outside to harden them and then will plant them but they are pretty fragile so will probably cut the bottom out of 5 gallon buckets and put around them to protect them from the wind.