Aesculus indica Sydney - Indian horse-chestnut Pearce - Marronnier de l'Himalaya

The Aesculus indica 'Sydney Pearce' is a Himalayan horse chestnut selected for its magnificent spring flowering. This large deciduous tree is an Indian cousin of our common horse chestnut, surpassing it in terms of elegance. It bears lush palmate foliage, beautiful purple young shoots, and stunning autumn colours. Its spring flowering, which follows that of the common horse chestnut, is spectacular, with large candle-like clusters of tricoloured flowers dominated by pink.

The Aesculus indica 'Sydney Pearce' was selected by Sydney Pearce, assistant curator at Kew Gardens, in 1935. Compared to the species, this cultivar has flowers speckled with a darker pink in denser floral panicles. Like all horse chestnuts, it belongs to the sapindaceae or hippocastanaceae family, depending on the classification. The species, sometimes called Indian horse chestnut, is native to the northwest Himalayas, mountainous regions of the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It is a large tree that can reach a height of 20 m with a spread of 15 to 20 m. It has a short trunk, sometimes branched, topped by a high, dense, dome-shaped canopy. Its bark is brown-grey, smooth but fissured. The deciduous foliage appears in spring and falls in autumn. The leaves are opposite on the branches, palmate, composed of 5 to 7 petiolate leaflets, elliptical, lanceolate, pointed at their tips, finely toothed along the edges, and can measure up to 22 cm long. When they first appear in spring, the young leaves are purple to bronze in colour. They then turn dark green and finally change to a late orange-yellow in November before falling. Flowering occurs in June, on already leafed-out branches. It takes the form of large upright cylindrical clusters called thyrses, measuring 20-22 cm long and 10 cm wide, composed of numerous small flowers with 4 petals, 2.5 cm long, in a blend of white, yellow, and fairly bright pink. After pollination by insects, oval fruits form, containing a single large shiny dark brown seed, flattened, with a diameter of 2.5 cm. The hardiness of this horse chestnut is estimated at -12 °C, at its lowest for a mature specimen.

The Himalayan horse chestnut 'Sydney Pearce' thrives in temperate climates, not too cold in winter and not too hot in summer. It likes well-drained but not too dry soils. Due to its significant growth, it is planted as a solitary specimen, in a well-exposed location, on a large lawn, or as a shade tree near a terrace. It will also make a good impression at the edge of a large plot overlooking the countryside. Take into account its size before adopting it in the garden.