In This Issue
“Following my visit to Solex I'm excited about outdoor living sales for 2016.”
Whitehall consults with community over plans to treble size of Lacock centre
Record-breaking SOLEX hailed a great success
GCA regional award meetings announced
Move towards Sunday Trading level playing field pleases HTA
Great year for outdoor furniture and barbecue sales
Kelkay go the extra mile to replace a pensioner's stolen bird bath
Liz steps down from GCA’s inspector role
Research shows £5bn garden market grew by 8% last year
The Greatest Outdoor Living Sales gold winners to be presented at spoga+gafa
HTA Futures is the venue for The Greatest Garden Centre Team Awards 2015
Johnsons Seeds get a makeover for 2016 season
Reward for Squires, Briers, Kinder, Garland, Bramblecrest and others at Hampton Court
Horticultural Buyer – Full time
Restaurant Manager - Lincolnshire
Garden Centre Manager - South London - Newly Developed Site
Plant Area Supervisor - Hertfordshire - Boutique Garden Centre
Horticultural Buyer - Wiltshire
Assistant Propagator - West Sussex
Final call for Garden Re-Leaf cash - Who will be The Greatest Garden Re-Leaf Day Retail Fundraising Team?
Tomorite is the No 1 garden product bestseller
Spring sales boom for organic Sluggo say Neudorff
Veg sales have ‘bean’ and gone
T&M plant breeder honoured in naming of ‘revolutionary’ foxglove
Bark sales grow in hotter weather
Wyevale Nurseries set to recruit more management trainees
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Catering Tip of the Week: Can your food offer tell your story?
Get a pizza the barbecue and grill action
Situations Vacant
Horticultural Buyer – Full time
Salary dependent on experience.
 
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Restaurant Manager - Lincolnshire
 
We are looking for a resourceful Restaurant Manager to join us as we plan to re-invent our restaurant...
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Garden Centre Manager - South London - Newly Developed Site
£32.5k - £36k per annum
Read more»
Plant Area Supervisor - Hertfordshire - Boutique Garden Centre
£18k to £19k per annum
Read more»
Horticultural Buyer - Wiltshire
Salary dependent on experience but Circa £25k -£35k
Read more»
Assistant Propagator - West Sussex
£16k -£20k per annum
Read more»
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Contact us with your news.  Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700

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T&M plant breeder honoured in naming of ‘revolutionary’ foxglove

The Chelsea Plant of the Year 2012, Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’, has been renamed to recognise the work of its creator, Charles Valin.

The foxglove took the gardening world by storm following its launch in 2012. Unusual blooms, repeat flowering and multiple stems continue to keep this unusual crossbreed high on the Thompson & Morgan best-seller list. But it has left the experts scratching their heads when it comes to classification.

In recognition of the work of Charles Valin in creating this unique cross as part of T&M’s breeding programme, James Armitage, principal scientist of horticultural taxonomy at RHS Garden Wisley, has announced Digitalis x valinii as the correct botanical naming convention for all existing and future crosses of D. purpurea and D. canariensis. He said: “The clever use of island species in the creation of D. x valinii has paid rich dividends.” 

Lauded as a revolutionary hybrid by RHS taxonomists, it was felt that a reclassification was needed to distinguish all present and future crosses of the UK native Digitalis purpurea and the exotic D. canariensis, while smoothing out confusion over previous naming conventions for its Canary Island parent.

19th Century taxonomists named the Canary Island foxglove Isoplexis canariensis in 1829, recognising its morphological and behavioural differences compared to others in the Digitalis genus, namely a shrubby and candelabra habit and differences in petal shape and flower positioning on the stem.

Modern studies have since indicated that the two genera should not be treated separately, and in 2012 the RHS recognised all Isoplexis as Digitalis, just as the first commercial cross was launched to the public by T&M. This reclassification outdated early naming suggestions for ‘Illumination Pink’ and its sister lines, such as  Digiplexis, while Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’ just didn’t do justice to the work involved in creating it.

It’s common for new cultivars to be named after people, but to have a species named in your honour doesn’t happen very often and was more common in the era of the great plant hunters. Charles said: “I am humbled and grateful to receive such recognition for my work on Digitalis. Having a plant named after you certainly doesn’t happen every day!”

During his time with Thompson & Morgan, Charles has developed more than 40 unique creations across a wide range of genera, while overseeing the seed and plant mail order specialist’s unique breeding programme.  A full list of Charles’ currently available introductions can be viewed via the link below, but key lines alongside ‘Illumination Pink’ include the dwarf Buddleja ‘Buzz’ Series, the world’s first black double petunia ‘ Black Night’ and Cosmos ‘Cupcakes’. Several of Charles’ latest creations are being launched in the Thompson & Morgan 2016 Spring Catalogue.

www.thompson-morgan.com/charles-valin-varieties

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