Back in June, I discussed the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of the Year winners for 2012. I know, that the name of the award… well, it’s all a bit of a mouthful. But the competition is rapidly becoming the launchpad for the top new varieties from around the world as they become available in Britain.

There’s one winner, two runners up – and another seventeen didn’t-quite-get-an-award plants chosen from all those submitted and well worth growing. There are perennials, shrubs, tropicals, climbers and more. In my piece for the Royal Horticultural Society’s magazine The Plantsman I discuss them all, and their origins, and they’re all beautifully illustrated as well.

And it’s now available online now for everyone to read.

Of course, this is not only a public service from the RHS it’s also by way of temptation to entice you to subscribe to the magazine. And, if you’re serious about plants, a subscription to The Plantsman is absolutely indispensible.

• Read my piece about all the Chelsea Flower Show 2012 Plant of the Year winners and shortlisted plants
• Find out more about The Plantsman magazine, from the Royal Horticultural Society, and subscribe

Britain’s National Plant Show took place last week and with it the New Plant Awards. This is a trade show, for growers and nurseries and garden centres rather than home gardeners, and few of the plants entered in the competition for the best new plant (over 100 of them) are yet available for home gardeners; but they will be soon. So I thought you might like a look.

The judges gave the award for the best new plant in the show to Hebe ‘Rhubarb and Custard' (above, click to enlarge) and David Gilchrist commented: “With such a huge selection of fantastic new plants across all categories the judges were spoilt for choice. Hebe ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ really stands out as an extremely saleable plant with a good shelf life that is easy to grow.  With its striking foliage and lilac flowers it has the ‘wow’ factor and within a plantarea will catch the eye of the gardening public presenting tremendous potential for garden retailers.”

The other Gold Medal winners were;
Annual: Impatiens ‘Sunpatiens Compact Red’
Herbaceous perennial: Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Freak’ (right, click to enlarge)
Climber: Hydrangea petiolaris ‘Summer Snow’
House plant: Kalanchoe Queen RoseFlowers ‘Candice’
Breeder Innovation: Begonia ‘Summerglory’ (below, click to enlarge)

The judges for the New Plant Award, sponsored by ProVar, were: Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries in Portland, Oregon; Neil Fishlock of Dobbies Garden Centres (one of Britain’s largest chains); Anisa Gress, news editor of the RHS magazine The Garden, and horticulturalist and holder of the Plant heritage National Collection of Hamamelis Chris Lane. David Gilchrist, horticultural adviser to the Horticultural Trades Association, which organises the show, chaired the panel.

During the two day show, visitors are also asked to vote and they came up with a very different choice.

The Visitors’ Vote for Best in Show was Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Dark Angel’
Best Annual: Petunia 'Designer Purple Flash’
Best Shrub:  Lavatera ‘Magenta Magic’
Best Herbaceous Perennial: Pennisetum setaceum ‘Vertigo’
Best Houseplant (joint winners): 
Paphiopedilum maudiae ‘Femma’ and Gerbera ’Flori Line Micro Sunrise’

Next year's National Plant Show takes place on 25 and 26 June 2013.

Well, no sooner do I finish my round up of the All-America Selections and Fleuroselect Gold Medal winners for 2012 than Fleuroselect announces its winners for 2013! And, what’s more, Fleursoselect has abandoned its policy of only giving medals to seed-raised plants, the dahlia is raised from cuttings. For more on All-America Selections and Fleuroselect, see my earlier post.

So, the three 2013 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winners are: Lewisia 'Elise', Dahlia ‘Dalaya Yogi’ and Celosia 'Arrabona'.

Lewisia 'Elise'

This new lewisia (above, click to enlarge) has three main points of interest. The mixture of colors is lovely – soft and vivid pinks, salmon, orange, white, yellow and almost purple plus some lovely bicolors.

Also, unlike other lewisias, it does not need a cold spell to initiate flowering so it will bloom in its first year. And, finally, its seed has a higher rate of germination that other lewisias, about 80%, so you’ll get more plants for your money. Sow in January or February to flower in summer.

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Celosia 'Arrabona'

Developed in Hungary, the feathery plumes of Celosia 'Arrabona' (left, click to enlarge) come in a shade of orange red that the Fleuroselect judges thought was unique. Reaching about 14in/35cm in height, 'Arrabona' can be used as a garden annual, in containers, or as a cut flower. It also enjoys summer heat, is drought tolerant once established, and is very prolific.

In Britain, the recent trial of celosias at the RHS Garden at Wisley revealed how well these plants do in the contemporary British summer climate. And it enjoys that hot summers across much of North America. Sow in February from flowering from July to October.

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Dahlia ‘Dalaya Yogi’

This new dahlia is the second in the series of medium sized dahlias for containers and summer borders. The bushy plants develop these attractive, dark-eyed, semi-double flowers (right, click to enlarge) which open early and continue until the frosts. And they open continuously right through the season, not in flushes with quiet periods in between as some dahlias of this type do.

Plants are also tolerant of powdery mildew and at about 16in/40cm in height are small enough for containers, but not so dwarf as to lack elegance.

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Finally, in my last look at award-winning seed-raised plants for 2012, from both sides of the Atlantic, a Fleuroselect Gold Medal winning hollyhock and All-America Selection chili pepper, developed in Britain. For more on All-America Selections and Fleuroselect, see my earlier post.


Hollyhock ‘Spring Celebrities Crimson’

The Spring Celebrities Series of hollyhocks has been developed in Holland, and represents the latest in dwarf, annual hollyhocks. OK, for many (most?) of us that’s a problem in itself: hollyhocks should be tall and elegant, and so they should be biennial – sow seed one year, flower the next. Right?

The point about their being short, and flowering from a spring sowing, is that they fit better into the growing regimes that growers already have established and so the plants are more likely to find their way into garden centres.

‘Spring Celebrities Crimson’ reaches just 2ft/60cm in height and those rich red, 3-4in/8-10cm double flowers are very pretty. It flowers from a spring sowing because, unlike most hollyhocks, it doesn’t need a period of cold to initiate flowering. Other colours in the series are soft pink, lilac, lemon, carmine rose, purple, and white.

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Chili pepper ‘Cayennetta’

This is a chili pepper, developed by a British company, that’s an All-America Selection – how’s that for Transatlantic success. And with a plant that until recently hardly anyone in Britain grew.

‘Cayennetta’ produces bright red fruits, green at first, about 3-4in/7.5-10cm long on bushy and well branched, rather upright plants that fill out well and don’t usually need any support. It’s ideal in a container. The fruits are relatively mild, slightly spicy, with an SHU rating of 10-20,000,

What’s more, ‘Cayennetta’ not only thrives at cooler temperatures than most chilies but it’s also good in heat; the dense foliage helps protect the fruits from sun scorch.

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OK, continuing my quick look at award winning seed-raised plants from both sides of the Atlantic, we continue with two different varieties of Hummingbird Sage, or Texas Sage, Salvia coccinea.


The Summer Jewel Series of varieties of Salvia coccinea have won awards on both sides of the Atlantic this year. ‘Summer Jewel Red’ is a Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner in Europe, while  'Summer Jewel Pink' is an All-America Selection.

Salvia coccinea varieties combine elegance and color; they’re altogether more relaxed in the way they grow than the traditional dumpy bedding salvias and are ideal in large containers and in sunny mixed borders.

In general, the Summer Jewel Series is more compact that earlier varieties, but not at all short and squat; they reach about 18in/45cm high and as the season develops bushes out broadly to as much as 24in/60cm across. They also flower earlier, with longer spikes and so combine color and style. Both are very appealing to bees and hummingbirds and in mild climates (zone 7b and above), both may behave as perennials.

Salvia ‘Summer Jewel Red’
Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner ‘Summer Jewel Red’ (above, click to enlarge) features long scarlet spikes which are dramatic without being crudely garish and bring a little X to bright contrasting plantings. (The plants in the picture may have been treated with a growth regulator but will soon stretch.) It flowers about three weeks earlier than the taller ‘Lady in Red’.

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Salvia 'Summer Jewel Pink
All-America Selection 'Summer Jewel Pink' (right, click to enlarge) is a much softer shade, a pink and white bicolor, which is lovely in pastel combinations and which is shorter and flowers about two weeks earlier than the more familiar ‘Coral Nymph’.

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For more on All-America Selections and Fleuroselect, see my earlier post.

OK, starting my quick look at award winning plants from both sides of the Atlantic, we kick off with a sparkling echinacea mixture and sumptuous vinca (not to be confused with groundcover vinca). For more on All-America Selections and Fleuroselect, see my earlier post.

Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’
Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ (left, click to enlarge) is seed-raised coneflower mixture in six colours: orange, red, rosy-red, yellow, purple and cream. Not only does it bring this excellent range of colours (although no pure white), but the plants flower in their first year from a spring sowing, although seed needs to be sown in heat in late winter. (zone 4)

The single flowers are relatively uniform in size, and the plants all reach about the same size – 27-31in/68-80cm in height and 25-30in/64-76cm wide – whatever the colour. So the plants are very bushy. ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ looks great for sunny borders, and as a cut flower. And you can pick out your favorite color and divide the plants.

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Vinca 'Jams 'N Jellies Blackberry'
All-America Selection Vinca (Catharanthus) 'Jams 'N Jellies Blackberry' (right, click to enlarge) is an unusually richly coloured form of this annual in deep, not-quite-black purple that’s rather like a sun and heat loving version of Impatiens. Widely used in North America, and becoming more popular in Britain, these vincas are prolific and easy and don’t suffer from the downy mildew problems of Impatiens.

Reaching about 10-24in/25-60cm in height, depending on the summer climate, Vinca 'Jams 'N Jellies Blackberry' is a fine container plant, with silver foliage perhaps, and good in sunny borders.

Sow seed about eleven weeks before the first frost in your area at about 75F/24C and grow on at about 70F before hardening off and planting out.

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Here are links to a few of my pieces which have appeared on the Royal Horticultural Society website recently.

Ten soft fruits which have received the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Ten dwarf spring bulbs that have received the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Check out all my selections of AGM plants

Latest Award of Garden Merit plant - Cortaderia selloana Silver Feather ('Notcort')

Check out all the latest AGM winners I've written up

One ten plant choice, and one plant which has recently received the AGM goes live on the RHS website every month.