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16.07.2024
- Horse chestnut origin
- Horse chestnut care and location
- Pruning horse chestnut
- Watering horse chestnut
- Fertilizing horse chestnut
Horse chestnut origin
The horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a deciduous tree and belongs to the soapberry family. It originally comes from southeastern Europe and Asia Minor and is now cultivated in many parts of the world as an ornamental plant and for its medicinal properties. It can usually reach a height of 15 to 25 m.
The horse chestnut has an impressive, brown-red bark and large, shiny, dark green leaves that can grow up to 30 cm long and 20 cm wide.
In May and June, horse chestnuts bear large, striking white or pink flowers. They appear in dense, upright panicles and give off a sweet scent.
In autumn, the trees bear brown, round capsule fruits that contain the so-called horse chestnuts.
The fruits of the horse chestnut are not edible for humans, but are very popular with many animals such as deer and wild boar.
The fruits of horse chestnuts contain a substance called aescin, which has antimicrobial properties and can therefore be used as a natural detergent.
Many parts of the horse chestnut are used in medicine, as well as in cosmetics and the paint industry. It is a popular tree in towns, parks and gardens and its seeds are very popular with children for crafts in the autumn.
Horse chestnut care and location
Horse chestnuts prefer a sunny to partially shaded location and need deep, moist soil. To avoid waterlogging, the soil should be well-drained. They are adaptable and can also grow in dry soil, but should be watered regularly during dry periods and on days with full sun to prevent the soil from drying out completely.
Pruning horse chestnut
Horse chestnuts do not need to be pruned, but can be pruned for shaping or rejuvenation. The best time to prune is in the fall after the leaf fall period. To keep the tree healthy, old and diseased branches should be removed.
Watering horse chestnut
Due to climate change, it is getting hotter in our regions and longer dry periods are the result. This has an impact on the environment and especially on the trees. Depending on the location and the climate situation, more frequent watering may be necessary than in previous years. Sufficient watering of young and newly planted horse chestnut trees is particularly important, as their root system is not yet fully developed and they are therefore more susceptible to drought stress. The substrate around the tree should never dry out completely. This weakens the trees and there is a risk that the fine roots will die.
The water requirements of a horse chestnut tree depend on several factors such as the length of the dry period, the condition of the tree and the soil. A general rule of thumb is 75 to 100 liters per watering for young trees and 200 liters for older trees. To ensure continuous moisture, tree bath watering bags are a good option. With conventional watering, only a fraction of the water poured is absorbed directly by the tree. Large amounts of water only penetrate the surface of the soil and evaporate again.
With tree bath watering bags Over a period of several hours, water is released drop by drop through two small holes to the field maple. This ensures even moisture levels so that the roots near the surface can also absorb the water. By filling a watering bag, young trees are provided with sufficient water.
For existing trees with a larger trunk diameter, two to three irrigation bags can be zipped together to water them.
Fertilizing horse chestnut
Horse chestnuts have a high nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium requirement, so regular fertilization is recommended. To do this, two liters of garden compost per square meter is applied to the tree disk in spring. A layer of mulch around the horse chestnut is useful to keep the soil moist and prevent weeds. The mulch should not be applied too thickly, otherwise the bark of the horse chestnut could be damaged.
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