i doubt cuttings will be easy ... if at all possible ...

a squirrel planted some chestnuts in a large pot.. that i threw in the pole barn.. next spring.. they sprouted ... and thats about as easy as it can get ...

one might expect.. that an OH BE in OH ... would self sow ... so why complicate your life with fridges etc ...

lets see what others have to say in that regard ...

ken

ps: also.. pound a marker in the ground.. and plant a few in mother earth ... you might be surprised... presuming a rat with large fuzzy brown tail.. doesnt find them first .... the big marker being so you remember in spring.. what you put there ....

Seed is the best approach but protect it from squirrels the first year.

seeds are SUPER easy. Grafting might work, but seems like a mega hassle. If you are worried about the rodents, plant the seeds and cover with chicken wire weighed down with stakes or rocks. Just be careful in the spring because the rodents may try to dig up the whole sprout to get what is left of the seed.

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the Ohio buckeye is in my experience a messy and not very ornamental tree.

I have two in the back yard, planted by the previous owner (out of state loyalty or perhaps mental defect). The pale greenish-yellow flowers are barely noticeable in spring. Leaves start developing brown patches and falling off by mid to late summer. There is no fall color to speak of. I've been thinking of cutting one of them down for several years; maybe this fall if I have the time.

If you want a buckeye, I suggest another species or hybrid. Maybe the scarlet buckeye (Aesculus pavia), which at least has attractive flowers.

I have several types of buckeyes, and also would suggest aesculus pavia. They're also a easier to start than Ohio Buckeye and don't even need stratified. We have found that Ohio Buckeye propagates itself if it falls into leaf litter and the rodents don't find it. We used to move the volunteers to different areas of the property, but don't bother anymore and if we get no takers when we offer to give them away, we just compost them.

I have three of these near a river. All of them are at least 10 years old. One browned last year. The second browned in July this year. The third one is half dead now. There is no pest, but the trees just start to yellow and the leaves brown. No other trees nearby suffer from this. What is the problem?