Our Plant Guardian scheme is a vital part of our work to conserve living, garden plants
Anyone who has a place to grow a plant - indoors or outdoors - using a back garden, greenhouse, allotment or windowsill can be actively involved in the conservation of cultivated plants as a Plant Guardian. This means our members can take part in active conservation without needing to hold a National Collection.
How do Plant Guardians keep rare plants from being lost?
Our plant guardians are growing rare and unusual plants in gardens, greenhouses, allotments and on windowsills across the UK. These plants are defined as 'rare' because they are not readily available from commercial suppliers. This means they can easily disappear - and once a plant has gone, it is gone forever as its genetic code is unique.
We keep a record of plants under guardianship, and use this to help our wider research into threatened plants. We share information about the plants in the scheme on our website and our rare plant blog. This helps people who are looking for them. We encourage our Plant Guardians to make more of their plants and share them (perhaps through the Plant Exchange and through plant fairs organised by our local groups). This helps to keep them safe and means more people can enjoy them.
Potentilla 'Velours Pourpre'
V Lloyd-Owen
Francoa sonchifolia 'Doctor Tom Smith'
© Plant Heritage
Suitable plants
You may have a suitable plant already in your care that you’d like to conserve through the scheme, or you might be able to get one from friends or family, or through your local Plant Heritage group or our Plant Exchange. Find out more.
Even if you do not think the plant you are growing is rare, it could be an unfashionable variety that has disappeared from the trade, or be at risk for a number of reasons. It may also be wanted by a National Collection holder (see the list of 'desiderata' plants).
Record your plant with us and our experts will confirm if your plant is rare in cultivation, and get back to you. Please note - if your plant is already safely in a National Collection, we do not also register is as a Plant Guardian plant. Any plants that fall outside of the scope of your National Collection can be registered under the Plant Guardian scheme.
Persephone
Plant Guardians can add information and pictures about their plants to the Persephone plant records system, or we can do this for you. This helps build a picture of how these plants perform across the country and may be used on the main plant search page.
Watch the short video to show you how.
Roz Cooper
Retired university project manager and librarian,gardening in a village near Durham
David Simpson
Retired sales and marketing director for a national house builder, inveterate compost maker and plant propagator
Anne Tweddle
Retailed oil company marketing executive and passional plant propagator