Red Buckeye Seed

 

 

My red buckeyes set a good many seed this year. Some years not many seed are produced. Last year I had a good many seed but more than half were infested with some kind of larvae or weevil and would not germinate. When I picked them off the bush the seed had little holes where something had entered or exited. I never found out what it could have been but I wondered if it was one of those cases where an egg is laid in the flower and grows there till the seed is mature, feeding on the seed. At any rate I made more than enough to satisfy myself this year. The white buckeye though is another story. I did not get a single seed from either of my two bushes. Before last year I was getting about equal numbers of red and white buckeye seed.
When I was growing up people used to carry buckeye seed in their pockets or their purses (I did that). Some people bored holes in the seed and hung them on their key chains. It was supposed to bring good luck. I can't verify that one way or another. It did make a good conversation piece though.
In order for buckeye seed to germinate, it is my experience that they need to be planted in the fall as soon as possible after they are harvested. They typically come up right away and may keep their leaves most of the first winter. If you wait too long,like acorns, they will desiccate and not germinate when they are planted.