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Plant feature New plants at Chelsea 2008

New plants at Chelsea 2008

The plant marquee is packed with new, and often awe-inspiring cultivars. Here are some of our favourites from this year's show.

Jarava ichu

Jarava ichu, photo by Dianna Jazwinski, Fizz Photos / Knoll Gardens

Jarava ichu, or Peruvian feather grass, forms mounds of bright green foliage with showy, silver flowerheads in summer. It will perform equally well in a sunny border or a container.

Iris 'Lullaby of Spring'

This easy-to-grow bearded iris, with butter yellow and lavender petals, will flower from late-May to mid-June.

Iris 'Semiramis'

Iris 'Semiramis'

This short, smoky yellow iris was bred in England and is perfectly suited to the UK climate. Requires a sunny position and well-drained soil.

Potato - 'Mayan Queen' and 'Mayan Twilight'

Following on from the success of Mayan 'Gold', Thompson & Morgan (T&M) is launching two new varieties of potato; 'Mayan Queen' and 'Mayan Twilight'. 'Mayan Queen' is a more vigorous cultivar, which yields broader tubers than 'Mayan Gold', with red eyes. 'Mayan Twilight' is a maincrop salad potato, producing high yields of small tubers with a cream and purple flesh.

Tomato - 'Maskotka'

Bush tomatoes are easier to grow than cordon varieties, as they don't need supporting, and their side shoots do not require pricking out. 'Maskotka' is a compact trailing bush variety, which can be grown in a small container. It produces sweet-tasting cherry tomatoes and has shown some resistance to splitting.

Sweetcorn - 'Mirai'

Sweetcorn grows well in the UK, if placed in a sunny position. The sweetcorn variety 'Mirai' produces three small cobs (approx. 20cm each) per plant. The white or gold kernels produce an attractive marbled effect throughout the cob, and are tender and sweet-tasting.

Strawberry - 'Chelsea Pensioner'

Home-grown strawberries are sweeter and more tender than shop-bought varieties. Ken Muir's new strawberry, 'Chelsea Pensioner' produces heavy yields of large, bright strawberries with a very sweet flavour. Early trials have revealed the fruits and leaves bear significant resistance to diseases such as mildew.

Micro greens salad - 'Bright and Spicy' salad mix

Micro greens are ready to harvest in just 15 days, after the first cotyledon leaves have emerged. They may be grown all year round, have an intense flavour, and are easy to grow. 'Bright and Spicy' micro greens mix includes pak choi and red amaranth leaves.

More from the Chelsea Flower Show

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