David James
Laced and fancy varieties most popular
"The Laced and Fancy dianthus varieties are highly popular at the moment," says James. These varieties are part of the large and own bred dianthus collection of Allwoods. "Our dianthus range culminates the whole species all under one roof, from tiny alpine pinks flowering at just 2" to greenhouse carnations reaching up to 6ft," explains James. The entire assortment consists of more than 400 varieties of which 150 varieties are used for the commercial market.
Own bred varieties
The majority of their dianthus varieties are own bred. According to James, their breeding breakthrough in 1910 revolutionized plant breeding in the world. "Before 1910, the dianthus varieties had only a short flowering season. Allwoods started breeding and developed new varieties that are repeatedly flowering. Still, our techniques are used all over the world," says James.
Preparing for next season
Currently, Allwoods is preparing for the next season, which will start in March again. "The season is now coming to an end and we just started propagating the new dianthus," says James. As Allwoods has a large assortment, they always have to carefully choose which variety they will propagate. According to James, this is always a challenge. "You can look at the most demanded varieties over the last seasons, but, of course, you cannot predict the future. Therefore, we are hoping that we have chosen the right varieties."
Allwoods
Allwoods was established in 1910. It is a genuine family run nursery located in West Sussex, United Kingdom. Next to their main crop dianthus, they also grow rare and unusual pelargoniums and other garden plants. All flowers and plants are grown in polytunnels, which has a total size of 3 quarters of an acre. The plants are distributed directly through their web shop, mainly to customers in the UK and also to select European countries.
For more information
Allwoods
David James
Email: david@allwoods.net
www.allwoods.net
www.facebook.com/allwoods
www.twitter.com/allwoodsplants