Hardy Plant Society

HPS Conservation Scheme

Iris ‘Roy Elliott’


Iris Spruria ‘Mrs. Tait’

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The Hardy Plant Society is concerned about the conservation of garden plants.

Countless fine garden plants have totally disappeared from cultivation and remain but a memory.

The Society is working towards ensuring that older, rarer and lesser-known perennial plants are conserved and made available to gardeners generally. Indeed, the Society was formed in an attempt to reduce the loss of the diversity of hardy perennials available to gardeners. This is still as much of a concern today as it was in 1957, when the Society was formed, as the choice of plants at large Garden Centres becomes less. This leaves the smaller nurseries and keen gardeners with the responsibility of keeping these lesser-known plants from disappearing.

The Conservation scheme involves HPS members in the choosing and growing some of these plants, and documenting the best way to grow and propagate them. The plants are distributed across the country with many local groups being involved.

The scheme is open to all HPS members. No special expertise is required. Your local group may have a coordinator, or you can contact the National Coordinator.

We also welcome any unusual hardy perennials onto the scheme.

Since the present scheme started in 1998, thirteen plants have been removed from the scheme because they are more readily available. However, there are still a large number of plants in need of conservation. A list of those that we hope to save in on our Plant List page.

Many HPS local groups have a conservation coordinator, to help members obtain plants and report their results. If your group does not have a coordinator, please contact the national coordinator.