There have been a record number of entries for the New Plant Awards at the HTA National Plant Show.

The New Plant Awards, sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), have attracted 121 entries across the five award categories (annuals, herbaceous perennials, house plants, trees & conifers, and shrubs & climbers).

HTA Chief Executive Carol Paris said ‘At the very heart of the show the New Plant Awards showcase the best in new plant introductions from UK plant suppliers. It is fantastic that we have so many entries this year. Garden retailers have seen strong plant sales this year and the HTA National Plant Show will be the best place to view new plants coming onto the market.”

Judges for this year’s awards include HTA President Stan Green, Jane Templar from Homebase, Mark Heath from the RHS, Chris Young, editor of The Garden and Chris Spanton from Suttons.

The award winners will be announced and presented by the judging panel on the morning of Tuesday 24 June. Gold, Silver, Bronze and Best in Category awards will be allocated from which the Best in Show plant will be selected.

Winners will be selected for the quality of plant, suitability for the market and whether it is an improvement on other plants currently available. All entries and winners will be displayed in the New Plant Area for visitors to see. 

All entries will be entered into the Visitor Vote, sponsored by Floramedia, where visitors have the opportunity to vote for their Best in Category and Best in Show. Voting closes at 3pm on Wednesday 26 June and the Visitor Vote awards will be presented at 3.30pm that day.

Last year New Leaf Plants took the crown of ‘Best in Show’ with Clematis ‘Beautiful Bride’ (pictured above), which also won the Visitor Vote award.