Plant Trials
Trials in 2008
Trials are normally grown from plants (as opposed to seed, unless the plants are propagated mainly from seed; this is indicated in the list) submitted by nurserymen, individuals, breeders etc (the senders to trial) and are open to visitors to RHS Garden Wisley except for those grown in restricted areas.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to view details of month-by-month listings of trials to go and see.
Click on the links for each trial to view a list of the species/cultivars that are under trial.
To view these documents you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. We strongly recommend that you download the latest version to prevent problems viewing the documents. This is available free from the Adobe website. Click on the logo to go to the website.
Floral
From seed; on trials field
Hardy annuals 2008
Pansies, winter-flowering 2007-2008 (119KB)
Tagetes 2008 (19KB)
Verbascum 2007-2008 (72KB)
From plants; on trials field
Aconitum 2007-2009 (56KB)
Bergenia 2007-2009 (95KB)
Cortaderia 2007-2009 (54KB)
Kniphofia 2007-2009 (91KB)
Verbascum 2007-2008 (58KB)
In the glasshouse
Fuchsia, Triphylla hybrids 2008 (11KB)
Rock garden plants
Crocus, spring-flowering 2006-2009 (98KB) (Not open to the public except on Open Days)
Roscoea (sourced in 2008) 2009-2011 (75KB)
Sempervivum 2006-2008 (56KB)
Sternbergia (sourced in 2008) 2009-2010
Woody plants
Berberis thunbergii 2005-2009 (96KB) (not open to the public except on Open Days)
Buddleja 2008-2009 (Euro-trial) (83KB)
Clematis Viticella Group 2008-2010
Hydrangea paniculata 2005-2008 (76KB) (not open to the public except on Open Days)
Indigofera and Lespedeza 2007-2009
Lonicera (climbing/deciduous) 2006-2010 (15KB) (not open to the public except on Open Days)
Weigela, coloured leaves (sourced in 2008)-2010 (Euro-trial)
Vegetables
Asparagus from plants (10KB) (sourced in 2008)-2011 (also at Rosemoor)
Aubergine (12KB) (in unheated plastic tunnel)
Butternut squash (8KB) (10 of the newer cultivars, including striped 'Barbara' at Rosemoor)
Bean, French, climbing (9KB) (eight of the coloured and decorative cultivars also at Rosemoor)
Cabbage, winter, including red (48KB)
Cauliflower (12KB), including coloured cultivars to crop from October
Leeks, late to crop spring 2009 (16KB) (15 of the colourful cultivars also at Rosemoor)
Radish, under fleece (52KB) View the full details of the trial (at Wisley & online)
Spinach, early (10KB)
Demonstration of sweet potatoes (11KB) in the open ground (also at Rosemoor and Harlow Carr)
Fruit
Raspberry 2007-2009 (39KB)
RHS/National plant society trials
Delphinium, perennial from seed 2007-2008 (10KB)
Hyacinths (sourced in 2007)-2008 (52KB)
Tulips, long-stemmed (sourced in 2007)-2008 (46KB)
Tulips, small-flowered 2006-2008 (22KB)
Visitors to the trials field voted for their favourite hyacinths and tulips. See the results:
Favourite hyacinth (20KB)
Favourite tulip (23KB)
Long-term trials
Border carnations (68KB)
Chrysanthemum, garden (29KB)
Chrysanthemum, under glass (23KB)
Daffodils 2007-2008 (23KB)
Daffodils 2008-2009 (79KB)
Dahlia (23KB)
Delphinium (12KB)
Dwarf pinks (79KB)
Garden pinks (82KB)
Iris, bearded First of three-year trial (78KB)
Iris, Pacific Coast Second of three-year trial (27KB)
Iris, tall bearded Second of three-year trial (22KB)
Iris, moisture-loving Last of three-year trial (15KB)
Iris sibirica Last of three-year trial (19KB)
Iris spuria Second of four-year trial (15KB)
Perpetual flowering carnations 2007-2009 (238KB)
Sweet pea (17KB)
What to see under trial
Find out which trials are looking good month-by-month. This will help you decide which trials to go and see and when.
Download an Adobe Acrobat pdf of the list (175KB)
Don't forget the Trials Open Days at RHS Garden Wisley