Many of the Chelsea exhibitors will have new plants on display this year, but what does "new" actually mean? There are three main types of "new" Chelsea plants.
1. Plants which have never have been seen on display anywhere in the country - or perhaps anywhere in the world - before.
3. Plants on display at Chelsea for the first time which may have been seen elsewhere recently, most often at other RHS shows or in RHS trials.
3. Plants a particular nursery is showing for the first time but which may have been around for a few years.
The tree fern Cyathea aramaganensis, from the Mariana Islands in the Pacific, which will be on the Desert to Jungle exhibit in the Great Pavilion, come into the never-seen-before group. David Root of Desert to Jungle says it's the only specimen in the country: "Very rare, virtually unobtainable, and not for sale!!" he told me. But it will be great to see it. The five new clematis from Sheila Chapman also seem to fit into this category.
Many plants will be at Chelsea for the first time but will have been seen occasionally before like the lovely Dianthus ‘Starburst', from Whetman Pinks, which was on trial at Wisley last year.
Then there are plants which are new to a particular nursery, but which have been around a while. The gorgeous Cercis canadensis Lavender Twist (‘Covey'), new for Notcutts at this year's show, comes in this category as it was available back in 2004 and is listed by nine nurseries in the new Plant Finder. However, now that Notcutts have it, this superb plant will be much much easier for gardeners to find. More on Cercis Lavender Twist tomorrow.
For more on Chelsea's new plants, check our new plants page on the Chelsea website.