Reward offered for new plants
8 June 2011
If you've discovered an unusual plant in your garden, whether you've bred it yourself or come across it by accident, you could win £500.
Plant company Thompson & Morgan is offering the reward to any gardener who discovers or creates a new plant that makes it into their range.
The company breeds hundreds of new plants each year but says it is always on the lookout for new and exciting additions to the range. Several plants have already made it into their catalogue from discoveries made by amateur gardeners: they include the mahogany-striped Tagetes patula 'Mr Majestic', spotted by a customer among other marigolds in the garden; and Tomato 'Sungella', a cross between 'Sungold' and a larger tomato variety made by a keen vegetable grower.
'Customers often don't realise they have a new or different plant in their garden, but simple observation can reap rewards,' said Michael Perry, of Thompson & Morgan.
The company has produced a leaflet telling gardeners how to find or create new plants in their gardens, from selecting particularly vigorous or different individuals in a batch of plants, to cross-pollinating and propagating from cuttings.
Find out more and download an entry form