No way it’ll spread. Several Bottlebrush buckeyes have been in the garden for years, with no evidence that the shrubby, small tree would become a suckering, wide spreading clump. Until this week, when I showed my wife what I first thought were the many seedlings surrounding the clumped stems.

I then looked closer to see if the roots were substantial enough to dig and share, only to discover that each “seedling” was, in fact, connected by stems running along the ground (above). Each had several points where it was rooted, so I’ll be able to snip and pot as many as I’d like. But, I’d like the buckeye to spread out a bit, so many or maybe all will be left undisturbed. Surprises in the garden never end.

The bottlebrush is a delightful shrub, with superb foliage and white blooms (above) that swallowtails adore. Of course, I’m overjoyed to have at least a few tiny trees that can be planted along this wooded border to further enclose the garden, but I’ll let the roots develop a bit more.

The bottlebrushes and horse chestnuts (Aesculus) have not progressed far enough into leaf to be one of my everchanging, weekly favorites, but the emerging flower stalks and deeply veined leaves are quite interesting. And now, I can verify that the buckeye will sucker to form a spreading clump, just not in a hurry.