The team at RHS Wisley is striving to expand & improve their plant collections, with an emphasis on garden-worthy plants and highlighting the variety that can exist within a single genus, championing all that cultivars have to offer. Hence RHS Wisley has had three new trees National Collections accredited by our Plant Collections committee in March 2022.
Albizia Julibrizzin F Rosea © RHS Philippa Gibson
Albizia julibrissin – RHS Garden, Wisley
Although this is a small group of plants this is a comprehensive collection for this little-known and under-utilized garden-worthy plant. The team at RHS Wisley hope to inspire visitors with these unusual but beautiful small trees, and hope to encourage more people to grow them at home.
Eucryphia Lucida 'Pink Cloud' © Christopher Whitehouse
Eucryphia – RHS Garden Wisley
Eucryphia grow well in the woodland conditions on Battleston Hill where there are some great specimens to be seen, most having been planted following the 1987 storms. New varieties and color forms have been added so there are thriving young plants too. The fact they flower later in summer makes them incredibly useful for extending the flowering season in the woodland garden, and RHS Wisley aims to highlight just how beautiful, varied & useful this perhaps underrated genus is.
Lagerstroemia Indica © RHS
Lagerstroemia – RHS Garden, Wisley
A comprehensive collection of hardy species/cultivars suitable for the UK climate, which are particularly suitable in the south east where the winters are milder and the summer is usually warmer. The range of sizes and shades of blooms are fantastic, and they are a wonderful late summer flowering addition to the garden, as they thrive in a long hot summer, which encourages flowering.
Through building relationships with other collection holders & growers throughout the UK, the team at RHS Wisley hope to share material which will help safeguard the future prospects of rare & unusual cultivars. It will also provide a platform to test some of the lesser-known species for hardiness and evaluate their garden worth.
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Plant Heritage
www.plantheritage.org.uk