Adress
Abbaye de la Cambre's Gardens
Ixelles
GPS coordinates :
50.8175
, 4.3743
Identity
Category :
Arbre remarquable
Latin name :
Aesculus x carnea
French name :
Marronnier rouge
Dutch name :
Rode paardenkastanje
English name :
Red horse chestnut
Family :
Aesculus
Height :
-
Targeted height :
Diameter of the crown :
-
Trunk circumference :
-
Expected circumference :
Expected longevity :
Origin / Indigenous
Favorite soil :
Favorite climate
Features and characters of the individual
The candelabra shape of these red horse chestnut trees attracts the eye, as well as their pink bloom of late spring. They are a good example of 19th-century gardeners’ expertise. They managed to create these trees out of two different species of chestnut. You can notice that each tree is made up of two parts. The trunk is larger because it grows faster: it is the grafting stock of a common white chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum). And the foliage belongs to the graft: the real red chestnut part. It is regularly cut to give it this "architectural" shape. Yearly pruning of the sprouts formed by the tree creates strange balls, called "cat's heads". The tree's reserves are concentrated into these balls. Far from being defects, these balls are important elements of the crown. This tree design reflects man's desire to control the garden, typical of the “French style”.
