Threatened Plant of the Year at RHS Hampton Court

Plant Heritage, the plant conservation charity, hold their annual search for rare and unusual cultivars which are no longer available commercially. The finalists are displayed at the show and the winner announced

About the competition

Plants can be lost to pests and diseases, climate change, changes in plant trade or simply by falling out of fashion. Plant Heritage works to protect rare and endangered plants through National Collections, Plant Guardians and Plant Exchange, as well as the Threatened Plant Programme.

Each year gardeners are asked to nominate unusual, rare or special cultivars that are not currently available commercially and may be in danger of disappearing altogether. The finalists are judged and a winner announced at RHS Hampton Court. 

This year, a People’s Choice vote will follow the announcment and run until Sunday July 7 so that the public can have their say.

To find out more, visit the Plant Heritage website.

Winner of the RHS Threatened Plant of the Year 2024

Aubrieta ‘Shangarry’

Aubretia 'Shangarry'

© Irish Garden Plant Society

Aubrieta ‘Shangarry’ has double, pale lavender flowers that resemble Parma violets.

‘Shangarry’ was first listed for sale in 1935, but by 2000, there was only one known location for this plant. Since then, it has been propagated and conserved through distribution at Irish Garden Plant Society plant sales.

The name suggests this cultivar may have been named for, or come from, the village of Shanagarry in Co. Cork. 

Winner of the People’s Choice vote

Rhododendron ‘Leonardslee Primrose’

This hybrid was raised at Leonardslee by Sir Edmund Loder from a cross between R. campylocarpum and a white-flowered form of R. arboreum. This is now classed as an endangered cultivar, rarely if ever found in cultivation outside of Leonardslee. Particularly interesting for its many small and delicate bell-shaped flowers of translucent primrose-yellow, spotted with maroon inside which appear throughout March and April.

Rhododendron 'Leonardslee Primrose'

Shortlisted for 2024

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.