Plant Heritage calls for threatened plants to be entered into a new competition, with the winner crowned at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in July
From the 1st February 2020 Plant Heritage, the world’s leading cultivated plant conservation charity, is calling for threatened plants to be entered into their new ‘Threatened Plant of the Year’ competition.
The competition, which is being launched in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), will showcase rare and unusual plants – specifically cultivars grown or sold before 2005 in the UK or Ireland that are not currently supplied commercially or haven’t been consistently available.
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Applications
Applications will be open from Saturday 1st February until Friday 29th April 2020, and Plant Heritage invites all of its National Plant Collection Holders, Plant Guardians, members, and those exhibiting at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2020 to take part. Cultivars from any plant group can be entered. Each plant entered will be judged by an expert panel from Plant Heritage and the RHS, with the top shortlisted plants being displayed at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival in July. The winner will be crowned at the festival and will be the first to receive and raise the new Threatened Plant of the Year trophy.
To take part, applications, including a photo of the plant if possible, need to be submitted online or via a paper form, the latter available to download from Plant Heritage’s website, or by contacting Plant Heritage on [email protected] or 01483 447 540.
Vicki Cooke, Plant Conservation Manager, Plant Heritage says: “The colourful Chrysanthemum ‘Spartan Linnet’, which is being nurtured by one of our Plant Guardians, has been identified as ‘Threatened in Cultivation’ by our Threatened Plants Programme. It is rarely available commercially, thus qualifying it as an entrant for our new Threatened Plant of the Year competition. There are so many interesting plants out there and we would love to showcase these in front of the crowds at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, so we really hope lots of people take part!”
A National Charity
Through its National Plant Collection Scheme, Plant Guardians and local group networks, Plant Heritage is the only national charity to ensure that cultivated plants (plants that have been collected, bred and grown in the UK) are cared for and nurtured, so that future generations can enjoy rare plants as much as we currently do.
If you’re not currently a member, National Collection Holder or Plant Guardian but want to take part in this competition, visit www.plantheritage.org.uk to find out how you can get involved!
Picture credit: C Dawson.
