RHS Plant of the Year 2024: Prunus ‘Starlight’
Showstopping starry white flowers sparkle on the unique cherry crowned 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year
Promising a prolific display of uniquely star-shaped white flowers, ornamental cherry ‘Starlight’ stood out from a wide range of finalists as an outstanding tree for spring interest and small gardens, scooping the winning spot as 2024 RHS Chelsea Plant of The Year.
A fabulous flurry in March
The winning cherry produces a fantastic flurry of pure white blooms in early March or, in cosy gardens, in late winter. It may also open a few flowers in autumn. This makes ‘Starlight’ a superb flowering tree for a small garden.
The specimen being shown at RHS Chelsea has been held back in a cooler environment to flower in May and looks superb.
British breeder has another star on his hands
Prunus ‘Starlight’ was developed in the UK by plant breeder Ken Tobutt, well known as the creator of many new shrubs and trees, including the familiar lacy, purple-leaved Black Lace (‘Eva’) elderberry and the Ballerina Series of apple varieties. He collaborated with Radovan Boskovic, an expert on the genetics of fruit trees, to produce Prunus ‘Starlight’.
A red-fruited edible cherry was crossed with an autumn-flowering cherry, P. subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’. Sporadic flowering can be the one drawback of the autumn-flowering cherry – although most mature trees will open a few flowers almost every day through autumn and winter, the display is rarely dramatic. Despite having autumn-flowering parentage, ‘Starlight’ is different, and was picked out for its impressive flower power.
Asked why she felt ‘Starlight’ was a deserving winner, Julia Mitchell of Green JJam Nurseries, who exhibited the tree, said, “The shape of the flower is very different to most Prunus – a bit like a Magnolia stellata. It has potential for two flowering periods, so possibly a little bit [of flowering] in the winter, because of the parentage. It has good autumn colour and isn’t too large, so is good in a small garden.”
As ‘Starlight’ is sterile, it does not produce edible cherries, but adds a whole new feature with its orange and yellow autumn leaf colour.
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Reaching 4m in height and about 3m across in ten years, and developing naturally upright growth without pruning, the elegant new ‘Starlight’ cherry makes a fine tree for a small garden.
It’s tolerant of most garden soils, including chalk and clay, and happy in all climates across the country, though a sunny site will encourage the most prolific flowering. The flowers have shown good resistance to frost damage and the tree is untroubled by aphids or bacterial infections.
Where can I buy Prunus ‘Starlight’?
You can buy the ‘Starlight’ cherry from RHS Plants or Frank P Matthews.
More inspiration
- Meet the other stars: ten standout plants of RHS Chelsea 2024
- Discover more new plants with an expert’s pick of top introductions
