Studies on Introduction and Cultivation ofAesculus from North American

Aesculus pavia, A. g labra, A. octandra and A. hippocastanum from North America w ere introduced andcu ltivated in Tong lu o fZhejiang, China. A four-year introduction experiment show ed thatA esculus from North America g rew more slow ly than that o fZhejiang buckeye in early stage. O f the four introducedAesculus species, A. octandra, A. pavia. and A. glabra. show ed better grow th performance. Though the young seedlings and 2 years o ld sproutand leaf of in troduced A esculus w ere more sensitive to the in jury by high temperature in comparison w ith Chinesebuckeye , the ir adaptation to h igh temperature and grow th increm ent would increase cont inuously w ith age. Thus,they w ere fit to be introduced into E ast of China, while A. h ippocastanum, which w as sensit ive to low temperatureand g rew more slow ly, w as unf it fo r introduct ion. Observa tions show ed thatA. pavia and A. g labra could b loom at1 year and 3 years o ld respect ive ly, wh ileA. octandra had the fastest grow ing speed, wh ich w as no t less than tha t ofZhejiang buckeye. Seeds ofAesculus may easily rot and lose v igor, but timely harvest and sto ring in sand of green-house could contro l the ratio of rotting be ing low er than 10%. For long transportat ion o f seeds in w in ter, litt le pack-ing w ou ld be helpful for keep ing seed qua lity. The number of lateral root o fAesculusw as little, bu t st imu lating germ i-nation by sto ring seed in sand and transp lanting w ith cutting roo t m ight enhance root development and seedling grow th. In high-temperature summer at seedling stage, shad ing by black netw ith light transm ittance 50% was help-fu l for seedling s grow th. Cult ivat ion of good-sized seedling s in nursery require contro lled p lanting density, ample fert ilizer, plenty w ater and finemanagemen,t whichm ight promo te the form ation of plump top bud and would be goodfor the growth of next year.