Three outstanding plants were voted into the top places of the Chelsea Plant of the Year 2016 competition; it’s good to see three completely different types represented - and a very wide variety of plants in the original long list of 45 accepted entries.
In third place was
Calendula PowerDaisy Sunny ('Kercalsun'), a new type of very long lived calendula. Its spreading habit makes it ideal for containers or for the front of a sunny border and its exceptionally long season of flat, double, bright yellow flowers set against deep green, mildew-free foliage provides colour from early spring until late autumn.
Calendula Powerdaisy Sunny was bred in Britain by the company that developed the Tumbelina trailing double petunias. It is available from
Mr Fothergill’s.
Geums have become more popular in recent years ,with prolific hybrids arriving in catalogues and garden centres. The latest is
Geum 'Scarlet Tempest', with large, semi-double, vivid orange flowers with scarlet veins and, again, an exceptionally long flowering season. It was runner up in the 2016 Chelsea Plant of the Year awards. Developed by Elizabeth MacGregor who also developed the first winner of the award,
Anemone Wild Swan (‘Macane001’),
Geum 'Scarlet Tempest' is available from
Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants.
The winner of the 2016 Chelsea Plant of the Year award was a unique new clematis, the first double-flowered yellow variety:
Clematis koreana Amber ('Wit141205'). This well-behaved variety – which never suffers from clematis wilt - produces its main burst of flowers in spring, but then blooms again in early autumn. Its nodding flowers are pale yellow with red tints on the backs of the outer petals.
Clematis Amber was a chance find at a Dutch nursery and is available from
Taylor’s Clematis.
*Please note, the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author which are not necessarily those of the RHS
