Plantfinder 2010 captures horticultural zeitgeist
28 May 2010
Daylilies (Hemerocallis), Iris and Heuchera are among the fastest-growing plant groups, according to this year's RHS Plantfinder, with hundreds of new cultivars appearing in the listings for the first time.
The Plantfinder lists about 3,400 new varieties among over 70,000 entries. They include about 400 new Hemerocallis, 200 new Iris, 35 new Acer palmatum cultivars and over 30 newly-released Heuchera.
Long relied on as the plant-lover's bible, the Plantfinder also acts as a barometer for horticultural and gardening trends. Intensive breeding programmes in the United States and elsewhere have a major impact, with long-standing American favourites Hemerocallis and the north American native Heuchera expanding their ranks with a huge number of new cultivars again this year.
'What's interesting about the heuchera is that one variety, 'Berry Smoothie', has come in with 29 nurseries supplying it right from the start,' says Janet Cubey, the Plantfinder's editor-in-chief. 'We've never had that before.'
Produced by prolific US breeders Terra Nova Nurseries, vivid pink-leaved 'Berry Smoothie' is one of eight Heuchera cultivars appearing in the top 20 most widely-stocked new varieties. Coral-coloured 'Fire Chief' and deep plum 'Midnight Bayou' are other cultivars taken up with unusual enthusiasm in their first year.
More daylilies then the market can stand
Michael Loftus, owner of daylily specialists Wootten Plants, in Suffolk, agrees that the 400-plus new cultivars of Hemerocallis are more than the market can sustain. But he's following a recent trend in Hemerocallis breeding away from large, showy flowers towards a lighter, more delicate form which he says can be more useful in English and formal gardens.
The 'spider' and 'unusual' forms of daylily – the distinction lies in the length-to-width measurements of the petal – have now moved to centre stage after years on the fringes. Work by innovative US breeders like Ned Roberts has produced dainty flowers which harmonise well with the current vogue for more natural forms in the garden. Many of Michael's new introductions in the Plantfinder, such as H. 'For the Good Times' with its louche dusty-pink petals and golden heart, and H. 'Shuffle the Deck', an 'unusual' with burgundy petals twisting around a lime-green centre, reflect the trend.
New garden-worthy orchids
Wider movements such as the current interest in gardening for wildlife, are also reflected on the pages of the Plantfinder.
'The wildflower patch is a real driving factor,' says Jeff Hutchings, of Laneside Hardy Orchids, Lancashire, who has introduced five of the 19 new varieties of hardy orchid in the Plantfinder this year. 'The number of people converting their lawns into meadows has jumped quite significantly.'
Most of the hardy orchids Jeff sells to gardeners interested in meadow gardening are species and subspecies of British natives such as Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. incarnata, a new introduction this year. But there's also growing interest in a new range of garden-worthy hybrids from breeding programmes in Germany.
'Cypripedium species often require very specific and demanding conditions,' says hardy orchid specialist Tony Dickerson. 'But the new hybrids combining species characteristics from China, the US and Europe have both hybrid vigour and ar far more amenable to general cultivation.'
New Cypripedium hybrids such as C. 'Sunny' (pictured above), from Laneside, and C. 'Irene' gx, one of Tony's 10 introductions this year, have generated much interest for their large, showy flowers: new strains of ground orchid (Bletilla) also show plenty of hybrid vigour and an impressive colour range including pink and blue.
The Plantfinder is available from RHS bookshops at a special price of £12.99 (publisher's price £15.99)