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Chelsea Flower Show's Plant of the Decade has been announced, with 2015 plant –Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum Kilimanjaro Sunrise ('Jww5') – revealed as the People's Choice Winner.
While this white compact shrub has been been voted the nation's favourite plant over the last 10 years, 2010 plant – Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Blue' – with attractive blue and yellow petals, has been named the RHS President's Winner.
Each year, RHS Chelsea celebrates the Plant of the Year, but for 2020, and in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Virtual Chelsea hosted a People’s Choice vote for the Chelsea Plant of the Decade.
The Chelsea Plant of the Year award was launched in 2010 to promote the continuing work of breeders and nurseries in producing improved and exciting new plants, and welcomes entries from exhibitors in the Great Pavilion.
This competition shone a light on some of the best innovations in plant breeding, with the public getting the chance to vote for their overall favourite from the previous winners of the last 10 years.
Keep scrolling to find out more about the Plant of the Decade contenders, plus where to buy the winning plants – Viburnum Kilimanjaro Sunrise and Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Blue'...
RHS President's Winner for Chelsea Flower Show's Plant of the Decade
• Neat and compact, this plant produces primrose yellow and baby blue flowers in abundance.
• Dibleys Nurseries (bred by Lynne Dibley, UK).
RHS explains: 'This was the Plant of the Year in 2010. Bred in the UK, it is the first separately bi-coloured Streptocarpus, yellow on the outer petals, contrasting with the blue upper petals. This houseplant has certainly stood the test of time and continues to have appeal. It can flower for up to eight months of the year, is compact and attractive, and likes to be on the dry side between waterings, so is ideal for today’s indoor gardens.'
• Ideal for a woodland garden or partially shaded bed, this plant has a long flowering period producing pure white petals.
• Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants (bred by Elizabeth MacGregor, UK).
• With exotic-looking flowers, this foxglove has an incredibly long flowering period.
• Bee Up Front Garden (bred by Charles Valin, Thompson & Morgan, UK).
• This compact, evergreen shrub with spine-free leaves, provides year-round interest.
• SeeAbility Garden (bred by Ozzie Johnson of ItSaul Plants, USA).
• The petals of the double flowers have a deep rose margin, creating a picotee effect with the creamy white centre.
• Hillier Nurseries & Garden Centres (bred by Ryoji Irie, Japan).
People's Choice Winner for Chelsea Flower Show's Plant of the Decade
• With white flushed pink lacecap-like flowers, this multi-stemmed plant is an ideal shrub border.
• Burncoose Nurseries (bred by Jan Willem Wezelenburg, Holland).
RHS explains: 'A multi-stemmed, upright, compact, slow-growing shrub, exhibited by Burncoose Nurseries, with very pretty, white-flushed-pink lacecap-like flowers appearing on its tiered branches in early summer.'
• Producing soft yellow flowerheads, this plant is ideal for training up an obelisk or growing in a large patio pot.
• Taylors Clematis (bred by Marco de Wit, Holland).
• A unique cross between a white and a black mulberry, this small compact tree is perfect for a patio pot.
• Horticultural Trades Association (bred by Hajime Matsunaga, Japan).
• With pure white, lace-cap flowers, this neat, compact and perfectly hardy shrub produces up to six times more flowers than most other cultivars.
• The Sun (bred by Ushio Sakazaki, Japan).
• This sun-loving, drought tolerant plant boasts brightly coloured foliage and chartreuse flowers.
• National Dahlia Collection (bred by Walters Gardens).
• Read more on Sedum Takesimense ATLANTIS
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