Featured Conservation Plants

Phlox paniculata is native to Eastern USA and Canada and plants with mauve flowers were brought to Britain around 1730, but it was not until the early 1900's that plant breeders set about improving plants for the cut flower trade although it became popular in late Victorian and Edwardian gardens and a favourite of Gertrude Jekyll.

One of the new introductions to the Conservation Scheme this year, suggested by Southern Counties Group following a recommendation from one of the National Collection Holders, is Chrysanthemum E.H. Wilson'.

 It was decided that it is time to say goodbye to a few plants that have featured on the list for a number of years because they are shrubs, plants with a woody structure and conservation of this type of plant does not fulfil our constitutional objective to preserve the older and less well known hardy perennials.

Plants in the Conservation Scheme should be completely hardy and perform well in the garden, but we don't grow plants in isolation and I've been looking out for some interesting planting combinations.

HPS members have a wealth of experience of growing hardy perennial plants and are asked to propose plants they think are worthy of conservation, particularly some of the older cultivars that are hard to find in nurseries or garden centres. 

Chrysanthemum 'Romantica' was suggested for inclusion by HPS Hampshire Group in 2018 whose members have grown it since 2012. The name spelt with a 'c' as here is the RHS accepted name although a plant listed by Plant Heritage is C. 'Romantika', with a 'k', and may well be the same plant. 

Phlox paniculata 'Lady Clare' is the fourth of the plants introduced to the Conservation Scheme last year. The Hampshire Group thought it worthy of inclusion because the large pale pink flowers with a deeper soft pink eye have a wonderful fragrance. 

Penstemon 'Margery Fish' AGM is a hardy, semi-evergreen perennial with narrow, slightly glossy leaves and slender dense panicles of purple-tinged pale blue flowers up to 3cm in length.

HPS member Sue Ward spotted Phlox paniculata 'Bosvigo Pink' growing in the garden of Bosvigo House near Truro, Cornwall in the early 1990's

Hemerocallis 'Hyde Hall' is not a particularly old cultivar nor was it widely available commercially - the name is only 'tentatively accepted' by the RHS and it does not appear in the Plant Finder. 

The final Conservation Feature of 2018 is an appeal for information about two plants that seem to have disappeared from cultivation. 

The Scheme is still looking for a National Coordinator and quite a few Local Groups are not represented. Information about the Scheme and the plants we grow can be found by following the About Plants / Conservation link from the home screen. If you enjoy growing and propagating plants and would like to be involved then please get in touch (conservation@hardy-plant.org.uk)

The Conservation Scheme is looking for suggestions of plants that you would like to add to the list. Herbaceous perennials fall in and out of favour and you may be surprised to discover that your favourite plant is no longer readily available to buy. Which plant would you choose for Conservation?

Heuchera 'Burgundy Frost' is fully hardy, preferring good humus-rich soil which doesn't dry out although needs good drainage in winter.

This pretty little hardy geranium was introduced to the Conservation Scheme in 2015 with plants propagated by the Isle of Wight Group from a plant obtained from Elworthy Garden Plants in Somerset.

Erigeron 'Sincerity' is now only listed by one nursery in Europe although it does not appear on their current online sales list. It was introduced to the Conservation Scheme in 2001 as being of historical interest.

Iris variegata var. reginae ‘Bozhimir Davidov’

This delightful Iris has been in the Conservation Scheme for around 10 years but its valid name has eluded us until very recently. It is a medium bearded Iris growing to about 30cm tall and ...

Hebe 'Nantyderry'

This delightful hebe was brought back into the Conservation Scheme in 2011 at the suggestion of the Shropshire Group because it has a connection with an HPS member who identified it in her garden. ...

Euphorbia fragifera

This unusual euphorbia was introduced to the Conservation Scheme in 2010 by HPS Norfolk & Suffolk Group and verified as the correct plant by Don Whitton, National Collection holder of Hardy Euphorbias. It is seldom offered for sale and was last listed in the RHS Plant Finder in 2015. ...

Primula Harbinger Group

Listed in the 2017 Plant Finder by only two nurseries, this charming primrose was added to the Conservation scheme in 2002 by the Shropshire Group as it was an old selection and seldom grown. . ...

Think before you sow!

Before we all get carried away by the excitement of the HPS seed list, please remember that whilst plants on the Conservation list may produce viable seed, the plants grown from that seed will not 'come true' and are likely to be inferior in some respect. ...

Chrysanthemum 'Dulwich Pink' is a plant that's been looking superb over the last week or so, coming into flower in late October here in the Midlands ...

Out with the rogues and in with the new

The annual Conservation Scheme meeting gives us the opportunity to discuss the performance of plants in the Scheme and to question the validity of our stock. Correct identification of older varieties is not always easy ...

Phlox paniculata ‘Milly van Hoboken’

This pretty phlox was first brought into the HPS Conservation Scheme in 1998 ...