New plants will once again be taking center stage at the 10th HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, which took place on 18th and 19th June at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, UK. Over the 10-year history of the show, the New Plant Awards have attracted over 1000 entries providing the industry with a great preview of the plants coming to the market in the following year. Agapanthus ‘AMB001’ ‘Fireworks’ from Fairweather’s Nursery has been crowned this year 2019 as Best in Show at the New Plant Awards on the opening morning of the HTA National Plant Show. When discussing the winner, the judges commented, “The agapanthus has the ‘wow factor’. It has a romantic, naturalistic look and looks exceptional even when in tight bud. It is a good commercial plant and looks to be a good improvement on its predecessor, ‘Twister’, because it is more robust and fills the pot quicker, therefore better value for money. It is exciting to have a fantastic plant that looks great in the container and in the border.”
The judges also recognized that the houseplant category was worthy of note due to an increased number of entries, with foliage houseplants on trend. There was also an increase in new retail concepts, with some good plant names for retail and those new to gardening. The New Plant Awards, sponsored by the RHS, are the beating heart of the show and create an area bursting with inspiration for the visitors. This year there has once again been over 100 entries – meaning that over the history of the show over 1,000 new plants have been showcased. The winners are: Gold and Best in Category Annuals Impatiens walleriana ‘Beacon®’ – Ball Colegrave Ltd; Gold and Best in Category Herbaceous Perennials Agapanthus ‘AMB001’ ‘Fireworks’ – Fairweather’s Nursery; Gold and Best in Category Houseplants – Aloe zebrina ‘Danyz’ – Javado UK; Gold and Best in Category Shrubs and Climbers Clematis ‘Elodi™ Tudor Patio® Evipo 115 (N)’ – The Bransford Webbs Plant Company & The Guernsey Clematis Nurseryand Gold and Best in Category Trees and Conifers Tilia x europaea ‘WILTIL’ ‘Golden Sunset’ – Frank P Matthews Limited.
The Flora Journal 