Red Buckeye

Aesculus pavia

Red buckeye is one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring. upright clusters of tubular scarlet-red flowers open in April, perfectly timed to coincide with the arrival of ruby-throated hummingbirds from their winter range in Central America. The timing isn't coincidence. This plant and this bird have co-evolved over millennia, and watching a hummingbird work a red buckeye in early April is one of the purest expressions of native ecology in a garden setting. As a large multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, it brings bold tropical-looking palmately compound leaves to the shade garden. It goes summer-dormant in drought, browning earlier than other plants, which is normal. Remarkably pest- and disease-free, and completely ignored by deer thanks to toxins in all plant parts.