On October 25, 2023, first-year students collected and planted seeds from red buckeyes in the arboretum. Approximately a month later, seedlings emerged from the dirt. Now, 16 months later, we see the first flowers! That's fast development.
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| Professor Rachel Johnson brought two groups of students to the arboretum for tours. The first group was from an 8 a.m. class. Students picked up 5 seeds and planted them in this spot, marked by the metal tag. |
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| At minimum, three of the five seeds germinated. One plant remains, and it is short and wide, and it has one red panicle. |
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| This is full sun. Online literature says that red buckeyes can grow in full sun or shade, so this is one of our experimental spots for full sun conditions. The majority of our other buckeyes grow in part or full shade. |
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| Students from Professor Johnson's noon class also planted 5 seeds. They were slower to germinate by just a week or two. Several seedlings emerged, and died back, and started again. |
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| Today, we see two little plants. One is significantly larger than the other and it has one red panicle. |
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| The arboretum has a steadily growing collection of red buckeyes. We are really hoping to draw in the ruby-throated hummingbirds with these clusters of pretty red flowers. |
You can read more about the germination project on an earlier post, found here.
