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Plants

New plant launches

Bloms Bulbs

Bloms is featuring for the first time some of the broken or reflected tulips, much prized from the 15th through to the 19th century. Much of the conservation of these bulbs today is carried out by The Hortus Bulborum; visit the website to find information on adopting a bulb.
The exhibit will feature the traditional English florist tulip 'Columbine', a true broken tulip, and perhaps the most famous of all English broken tulips, 'Sam Barlow'. The collection also includes the old Irish tulip 'Mrs Keightley'", part of an assortment of tulips collected from Irish cottage gardens in the late 1800s. No display of historic tulips would be complete without the inclusion of the dagger-shaped petals of 'Elegans Rubra', so reminiscent of the Ottoman tulips of the early 1700s.

Brian & Pearl Sulman

The nursery is launching a number of new cultivars including: ‘Southern Festival’, ‘Southern Purity’, ‘Southern Posy’, ‘Southern Rosina’, which are four new dwarf cultivars bred by the late Eric Lack; ‘Southern Damsel’, ‘Southern Siewigy’, two new regal cultiars from the same breeder; ‘Silver Dawn’ and ‘Silver Snow’ are two new miniature stellar cultivars with silver leaves, bred by Brian West.

Cayeux Iris

Cayeux Iris is bringing a touch of France to Chelsea, with 41 tall bearded irises, 24 of them Cayeux creations. The star of the exhibit is the new cultivar ‘Réussite’, which means success. The name reflects the 30 years of hybridisation work by Richard Cayeux and his father Jean Cayeux that it has taken to create a true French Tricolour - a red, white and blue iris, never before achieved with such purity of colour.

Iris ‘Tabac Blond’ is a new cultivar, although it won't be part of the Chelsea exhibit. It boasts burnt orange and yellow sepals with central maroon petals and it is equally suited to a border or container.

The Cottage Herbery

The Cottage Herbery is celebrating 30 years of growing peat-free plants organically. To mark the anniversary the nursery is launching: Astrantia major ‘Cottage Herbery’; Angelica sylvestris ‘Boraston Pink Lace’ (seed only); Mentha spicata ‘Tash Cream’ and Tropaeolum majus ‘Indian Ruby’.

Dibleys Nurseries

Dibleys Nurseries is launching three new streptocarpus, which were all bred at the nursery.
Streptocarpus ‘Jacquie’ was named at the NSPCC ‘Cruelty to children must stop’ Christmas Ball. The plant was auctioned at the ball and raised £1,050 for the appeal. For every plant of ‘Jacquie’ sold this year Dibleys Nurseries will donate 5p to NSPCC Wales.
Streptocarpus ‘Awena’, which is a medium sized cream-white flower with shocking pink veins blending into a very large throat. This plant has come from a breeding programme started nine years ago with the aim of introducing a yellow-flowered streptocarpus.
Streptocarpus ‘Ellie’ has vibrant cherry-pink flowers with a soft blush pink on the upper lobes. The upper tips revert to the darker cherry-pink.

Raymond Evison

New clematis from Raymond Evison

Hardy Plant Society

The Society will be showcasing a number new plants at the show, which have all been sourced from Four Seasons Perennial Nursery.
Coreopsis grandiflora ‘Rising Sun’
Hosta ‘Praying Hands’; ‘Eternal Flame’
Liriope muscari ‘Pee Gold Ingot’; ‘Okina’
Lychnis flos-cuculi ‘White Robin’
Lysimachia congestiflora ‘Persian Carpet’
Lysimachia punctata Golden Alexander (‘Walgoldale’)
Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Bluebird’
Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Little Tabby’
Panicum amarum ‘Dewey Blue’
Papaver orientale ‘Domino’

Harkness Roses

Harkness Roses is launching five new roses. These have been created over an eight-year period and two will help to raise funds for charity. The five new roses are: 'Fetzer Syrah Rosé' for Fetzer Wines, 'Varenna Allen' for Allen Power Equipment, 'Helen Robinson', the 'St Richard of Chichester' rose which will raise funds for the Chichester Cathedral Restoration and Development Trust and finally the 'Caroline Victoria' rose in memory of Caroline Victoria Coldicutt in aid of the Royal Theatrical Fund.
'Fetzer Syrah Rosé' has a rich perfume - that smells like the wine itself. Its ruffled blooms in pinkish ruby are borne on plants that grow with exuberance and vigour, forming an open, long-stemmed, well-branched bush. It is a strong, healthy grower suitable to set among mixed borders where there is a plenty of space. It will make a perfumed hedge and will provide lots of long stems, perfect for fragrant display indoors. 'Fetzer Syrah Rosé' will look good growing in shrub borders, hedges or mixed beds, where it will form a large, shrubby plant growing to a height of about 125cm and 80cm wide.
'Helen Robinson' was created in the memory of the renowned plantswoman, it is a beautiful candy-pink hybrid tea that seems to bloom almost all summer. It bears abundant, medium-sized flowers, which when fully open can reach up to 10cm across. The blooms are usually carried in terminal clusters of two or three per stem, and occasionally they appear as single blooms. Their perfume is rich and fruity. Growth is tall and erect; foliage is deep coppery purple when juvenile, maturing to glossy green. It is a rose for group planting in borders, ideal as hedging, and excellent to cut for the vase. 'Helen Robinson' grows to about 110cm tall and 60cm wide.
'St Richard of Chichester' is named for a much loved thirteenth century Bishop of Chichester. Its golden-amber blooms are capable of impressive size, yet they are delicately formed. When fully open they reveal loosely cupped quartered centres. The scent is fresh and subtle: a blend of grassy, herbal notes with a light spicy overlay. It grows to 1m with a width of about 80cm. With its above average vigour, 'St Richard of Chichester' is an ideal garden shrub rose for combination planting in the mid-to-background of mixed borders, or to set in small groups. It makes a fine display when cut for the vase.
'Varenna Allen' is a delightful golden-apricot floribunda, and has naturally high resistance to diseases. It produces myriad clusters of semi-double blooms that open wide to show pretty coloration in their centres. It is a prolific repeat-flowering rose and growth is compact and bushy, likely to reach 80cm tall by 80cm wide, ideal for any general planting situation that requires a mass of colour.
'Caroline Victoria' is a light, creamy rose with a perfect hybrid tea form. The colouration responds to variations of heat and light, from delicate amber-blush at early opening, to inner depths of light gold flushed with perhaps a trace of lemon, as the petals reflex. It has a long-lasting perfume - a foundation of tropical citrus with raspberry overtones infused by a hint of mint. It has good resistance to disease and rapid re-growth after flowering, resulting in excellent re-flowering. The plant forms a well-branched, erect bush, suitable for group planting in beds, borders or as a low hedge. It is an excellent rose for the garden and as a cut flower. The rose usually grows to 90cm tall by 50cm wide.