Chelsea: The pick of the 2017 bunch
SPECIAL REPORT on the best newcomers at the world’s greatest flower show
WAY back in the early 1960s, a charismatic nurseryman called Harry Wheatcroft grabbed the headlines at the Chelsea Flower Show. It wasn’t because of his mane of wild hair, huge handlebar moustache or penchant for wearing loud suits, but an exciting new rose variety.
Nobody had ever seen anything like ‘Super Star’, a hybrid tea bush rose with remarkably bright, salmon-orange flowers. The unique colour of the blooms meant it became a must-have plant overnight and cemented Wheatcroft’s position as the leading cultivator of roses in the country.
This Tuesday, hundreds of nursery owners will be hoping their debutants will create a similar stir when the RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens. Over the past decade, hundreds of new plants have made their first appearances at the show, with scores of exciting varieties expected to take their bow this week. Among them will be trees, shrubs, roses, perennials, bulbs, climbers, vegetables and many other types.
Hillier Nurseries first appeared at Chelsea in 1914 and have used it as a launch pad for many desirable plants down the years. The company will have two exclusive varieties at the show: Corydalis ‘Porcelain Blue’, a beautiful perennial with light blue flowers, and a crab apple tree with an unusual habit. Malus x purpurea ‘Crimson Cascade’ appeared as a seedling of another crab apple in the garden of a retired doctor in Yorkshire. Unlike its upright parent, this has weeping branches. It has a long season of interest with purplish foliage and pink flowers in spring, good autumn colour and reddish purple fruit.
Lovers of roses will be well catered for with at least seven varieties making an entrance. ‘Jane Austen’ is a bright orange floribunda bush rose from Harkness that commemorates the 200th anniversary of the author’s death. Semi-double, pink ‘Margaret Greville’ is among those from Peter Beales Roses.
One of our best-loved actresses will be honoured with a new English musk rose bred by David Austin Roses. ‘Dame Judi Dench’ produces large, apricot-coloured flowers with ruffled petals on plants that measure 4ft by 4ft. Possessing a good fragrance, it will flower over a long period if spent blooms are removed. French iris specialist Cayeux has 18 new varieties for 2017, with several due to be unveiled at Chelsea. ‘Ballon Captif’ has dark violet flowers up to 7in across, ‘Cocktail Tropical’ boasts apricot and purple blooms on 3ft stems, and ‘Galon Rose’ can carry up to 12 blooms per stem in a mixture of white, yellow and pinkish-purple hues.
The historical pact between France and Scotland against England is remembered with ‘Aubigny Auld Alliance’, a bearded iris with creamy white and yellow upper petals above dark purple lower ones. Flowers are held on 21/2 ft stems in May and June.
It’s not all about garden plants. New orchids, cacti and other houseplants will grace the stands of several nurseries. Dibleys Nurseries will unveil leafy begonia ‘Silver Spirit’ and a cracking Cape primrose called ‘Gold Dust’, whose purple and gold speckled flowers are delivered for over eight months a year.
If you’re after climbing plants, look out for Clematis ‘Kitty’, a compact form that’s suitable for containers. Large white flowers appear on 4ft stems from May to October. Bred by Raymond Evison at his Guernsey nursery, it will take pride of place on a display by Taylors Clematis.
Thorncroft Clematis will bring a trio of newcomers to the show. ‘Sea Breeze’ is a later-flowering viticella type with pale violet-blue flowers that’s ideal in light shade. ‘Green Passion’ is a plant you’ll either love or hate due to its fully double, 6in-wide, bright green flowers. Pick of the bunch is Clematis ‘Taiga’, a variety with huge, double bluish purple flowers with white tips. Blooms are produced on 6ft stems from early summer to the start of autumn. It’s my tip for the Chelsea plant of the year competition.