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    Grow Red Buckeye Trees for Hummingbirds


    Red Buckeyes Bloom Right When the Hummingbirds Arrive

    red buckeye

    Imagine flying 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico when you only weigh as much as a penny. That's the challenge facing the ruby throated hummingbird as it migrates every spring and fall to and from its homes in North and Central America. The trip takes 18-24 hours, and the tiny bird does it non-stop. After working that hard without a break, you can imagine the tired, little hummer is ready to refuel.

    Photo courtesy of J. Miller, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database


    red buckeye tree

    Make Your Yard a Hummingbird Oasis with Red Buckeyes

    Adding a few of these easily grown trees to your landscape will ensure your yard is a hummingbird habitat. They are so reliable that you can hang your hummingbird feeders when the first bell-shaped flower opens. Red buckeye is a handsome tree with an open habit and large palm-shaped leaves that give it a tropical look. In its native habitats, it grows in moderately moist soil under the protection of leaf-losing trees like oaks and hickories.

    Photo courtesy of J. Miller, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database


    Where to Place Your Red Buckeye

    In a home landscape, it prefers to be planted in well-drained, loamy soil (add a little lime if your soil is acidic) in full to partial shade. Although it is a denizen of the shady deciduous forest, red buckeye will develop a fuller growth habit and bloom more prolifically if you plant it in an area with full sun, but with protection from the hot afternoon sun in summer. Once established, red buckeye is tolerant of both occasional droughts and flooding, although it doesn't like wet feet.

    »  See our article on planting trees


    red buckeye

    Grow Red Buckeyes from Saplings or Seed

    Young red buckeye plants are readily available from nurseries. You can also grow them from cuttings or, most easily, from seed. Collect buckeyes in early autumn when the seed pod has split slightly and the seeds are firm and brown. Plant the seeds in pots or directly into the ground. Seed-grown plants will produce blooming sized trees in two to three years. Although very poisonous if swallowed, buckeye seeds have long been considered good luck and kept in many a naturalist's pocket.

    >Photo Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder