RHS Chelsea announces its 2019 Plant of the Year

Video courtesy Peter Van Rijssen, Concept Plants

The Chelsea Plant of the Year 2019 is Sedum takesimense ATLANTIS ('Nonsitnal').

An attractive, easy to grow, versatile and multi-functional plant, it forms 30cm high cushions of variegated foliage topped with yellow flowers from June to September.

Plants are robust and drought resistance and blooms are attractive to insect pollinators. The cultivar was discovered as a sport on a nursery on the banks of Lake Michigan by grower Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist, author, inventor and founder of LiveWall. MacKenzie founded Hortech, Inc., a company that specializes in plants for ground cover, green roofs and walls.

Second place

Digitalis x valinii 'Firbird'

Taking second place is Digitalis x valinii 'Firbird' bred in the UK and displaying 90cm high flowering spikes of warm reddish pink with apricot tones from May to October. A reliable perennial it has a branching habit and is also attractive to pollinators.

Third place

Agapanthus FIREWORKS ('Mdb001')

Third is Agapanthus FIREWORKS ('Mdb001'), an evergreen perennial with large umbles of bicolor flowers displaying rich blue bases and white flaring petal tips from July to September. Growth is strong but short and clean and plants are suited to containers or growing in garden borders.

Shortlist

The full shortlist of the top 20 for the 2019 competition:

1. Osteospermum PURPLE SUN ('Kleoe19396')
2. Rosa EUSTACIA VYE ('Ausegdon')
3. Rosa GABRIEL OAK ('Auscrowd')
4. Streptocarpus 'Lemon Sorbet'
5. Dianthus CHERRY BURST (‘Wp19 Mou01’) 
6. Digitalis × valinii 'Firebird'
7. Weigela PICOBELLA ROSA ('Tvp2')
8. Hosta 'Ruffled Pole Mouse'
9. Rhododendron HAPPYDENDRON PUSHY PURPLE ('Hachmagic')
10. Rhododendron 'Jessica de Rothschild'
11. Gypsophila cerastioides PRETTY MAID ('Yatgyp')
12. Sedum takesimense ATLANTIS ('Nonsitnal')
13. Thymus 'Sparkling Bright'
14. Paeonia 'All That Jazz'
15. Clematis ELODI ('Evipo115')
16. Agapanthus FIREWORKS (Mdb001')
17. Chlorophytum saundersiae 'Starlight'
18. Clematis 'Kokonoe'
19. Ajuga tenorei PRINCESS NADIA ('Piotrek01')
20. Nepeta NEPTUNE ('Bokratune')