Download 10 star plants for 2013

dig in nurserymens’ favourites
10 star plants for 2013
Leading plantsmen from around the world tell us which plants
they are most excited about growing this year
Mark Straver
Hortus Loci
Verbascum ‘Petra’
Limonium platyphyllum
Season Flowers June to October.
*Hardiness ratings given where available
Conditions Well-drained soil in full sun.
Season May to July.
Terry Baker
The Botanic Nursery
Persicaria orientalis
Abutilon x suntense ‘Violetta’
I’m particularly exited about a long swathe
of Persicaria orientalis I am planning. It is
an imposing plant covered in cerise tassels
that are the texture and colour of the
flock wallpaper that used to be a feature
of suburban Indian restaurants. I am also
looking forward to dropping one of its
common names into conversations: kiss
me over the garden gate.
Choice woody shrubs give a presence in a
mixed planting. Try the hardy evergreen
Abutilon x suntense ‘Violetta’ with its deep
violet saucer-like flowers produced in
early summer. Plant with spring flowering
buddleia such as the lilac pink B. agathosma
and the lavender blue B. salviifolia, then
under plant with the ground hugging
apricot-coloured Modiolastrum lateritium.
Height/Spread 2m x 60cm.
Height/Spread 2.5m x 2.5m.
Origins Annual species from Asia.
Conditions Moist not too fertile soil
in sun or part shade.
Season August to November.
John Martin / Alamy
hardiness rating RHS H4, USDA 8b-9a*.
Dianna Jazwinski / GAP Photos
Conditions Well-drained soil in full sun.
Origins Of hybrid origin.
John Hoyland
Pioneer Plants
Spared its degrading seasonal coat of spray paint
(those flower arrangers!), humble sea lavender fills
a worthy niche here at Marchants. Being littoral,
it reminds me of beach-bound summer holidays
too. Plant snobs pass it by but I love it and always
anticipate its summer display of myriad pale
violet flowers. These dry to a gratifying Milky
Way of silvery spent buds, which persist long
into winter. Flatteringly easy, it thrives on sharp
drainage, a spare diet and sunshine.
Origins Europe.
Height/Spread 1m x 60cm.
Michael Boys / CORBIS
Carol Casselden / GAP Photos
Graham Gough,
Marchants
Hardy Plants
Height/Spread Up to 1m x 60cm.
We grew this beautiful Verbascum in 7.5-litre
pots for Joe Swift’s Chelsea show garden last
year. It has a velvety burnt orange, almost
verging on tawny brown flower. The plant
is pollinated by moths at night so on hot
sunny days, the flowers appear to wilt in
the afternoon so as to save themselves for
the evening. It goes beautifully with Iris
germanica ‘Quechee’ and that colour range
seems to be very in at the moment.
Origins Selection of a hybrid of
two Chilean species.
Conditions Well-drained soil in full sun.
Season May to July.
23
dig in nurserymens’ favourites
howard rice / gap photos
Potentilla alba
Verbena ‘Lavender Spires’
Begonia ‘Silver Splendor’
Here’s a plant I have found so useful and
easy. Ground cover got a bad name with
some people when they realised that it did
not mean you could just plant something
and then forget about weeding. This plant
is as close to that as you can get, (if you start
with clean ground and get it established)
AND it has soft olive green leaves studded
with white flowers all summer, AND it can
be easily pulled up if it goes too far.
A chance seedling, this Verbena is similar
in appearance to V. hastata with slim tapers
of small lavender-purple flowers. Unlike
V. hastata, with its short flowering period,
‘Lavender Spires’ bloomed continuously
from the end of May till the first hard frosts.
It is probably a sterile hybrid producing no
seeds but reliably hardy, nectar-rich and a
magnet for pollinators.
Begonias are old fashioned plants, usually
grown for their foliage and often as a house
plant. I’m keen, however, to try ‘Silver
Splendor’ in a border that I want to give an
exotic look to. This one has a looser growing
habit than other begonias and interesting
leaves in grey with silver spots. Use it mixed
with other plants to give a bold planting
scheme. Bring it indoors over winter.
Height/Spread 150cm x 60cm.
Height/Spread 60cm x 45cm.
HEIGHT/SPREAD 15cm x wide spreading.
Origins North America.
Origins Cross of two Chinese species.
ORIGINS Central and southern Europe.
Conditions Well-drained, moisture-
Conditions Moist but well-drained soil in
CONDITIONS Well-drained soil in sun.
retentive soil in sun.
shade or part shade.
SEASON April/May through to summer.
Season Flowers late spring to autumn.
Season Leaves emerge in late spring.
Bella and
David Gordon
Plantagenêt Plantes
Ray Brown
Plant World Seeds
Ian Roger
RV Roger
Eryngium x tripartitum
Also known as the snowdrop tree, this is
a gorgeous spring-flowering shrub for a
special spot in the garden. In late March the
shrub is covered with white snowdrop-like
flowers. Under plant with English bluebells
and Narcissus lobularis for a glorious show
of spring colour, guaranteed to lift spirits
after the long winter months.
Each blossom of these rare cowslips has a
second blossom growing from within the
normal one, producing an intriguing
doubling effect. These exquisite flowers
were first produced in the 16-17th century
but unlike their modern cousins – the
polyanthus and bedding primrose – these
have retained the gentle, unflamboyant
dignity, and the perfume, of an earlier age.
We love this Eryngium because of its
wonderful blue flowers and stems, attractive
evergreen foliage marbled with white,
its resistance to drought and the fact that
unlike other eryngiums it does not flop
over but remains in a neat upright clump. It
self-seeds much less freely than some other
members of the family and is a true and
long-lived perennial.
ORIGINS North America.
CONDITIONS Moist but well-drained soil.
hardiness rating RHS H4, USDA 8b-9a.
Where
to buy
How to find our
plantsmen’s
favourites for
this year
For suppliers of each of
these plants check the
RHS Plant Finder 20122013 or www.rhs.org.uk/
rhsplantfinder/index.aps.
Alternatively, many of the
plantsmen featured are
nurserymen too, so it is
worth trying their nurseries.
Please note that stocks of
some of the newer plant
cultivars may be limited
jason ingram
SEASON March to May.
Botanic Nursery in Wiltshire.
Height/Spread Up to 20cm.
Origins Europe.
Conditions Moist soils in partial shade.
hardiness rating RHS H4, USDA 8b-9a.
Season April to May.
• The Botanic Nursery,
Nr Stonar School, Atworth,
Wiltshire SN12 8NU.
Tel 07850 328756, www.
thebotanicnursery.co.uk
• Cally Gardens
Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle
Douglas, Scotland DG7 2DJ.
Tel 01557 815029,
www.callygardens.co.uk
• De Kleine Plantage
Handerweg 1, 9967 TC
Eenrum, The Netherlands.
Tel +31 (0)595 491604
www.dekleineplantage.nl
• Marchants Hardy Plants
2 Marchants Cottages,
Laughton, East Sussex BN8
6AJ. Tel 01323 811737, www.
marchantshardyplants.co.uk
• Phoenix Perennial Plants
Paice Lane, Medstead, Alton,
Hampshire GU34 5PR.
Tel 01420 560695.
Height/Spread 90cm x 50cm.
Origins Hybrid of two European species.
Conditions Well-drained soil in full sun.
hardiness rating RHS H4, USDA 8b-9a.
Season June to November.
• Pioneer Plants
Baldock Lane, Willian,
Letchworth, Herts SG6 2AE.
Tel 01462 675858,
www.pioneerplants.com
• Plantagenêt Plantes
7 rue des Figuiers, Argentay,
49700 Les Verchers sur
Layon, France. Tel +33
(0)2 41 38 14 62, www.
plantagenetplantes.com
• Plant World Seeds
jane sebire
after ten years is more typical).
plants available from crocus.co.uk
Primula veris Hose-in-Hose
Steffen Hauser / botanikfoto / Alamy
Halesia carolina
HEIGHT/SPREAD 8m x 10m (but 3m x 4m
24
Fleur van zonneveld
and Eric Spruit
De Kleine Plantage
Marina Christopher
Phoenix Perennial
plants
Michael wickenden
cally gardens
Cally Gardens, Castle Douglas, Scotland.
St. Marychurch Road,
Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12
4SE. Tel 01803 872939, www.
plant-world-seeds.com
• RV Roger
The Nurseries, Pickering,
North Yorkshire YO18 7JW.
Tel 01751 472226, www.
rvroger.co.uk
Other contributors
• Hortus Loci is a wholesale
nursery. www.hortusloci.co.uk
25